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Tools for Self-Communication
Summary: The front door is a point where a change in human behaviour
takes place. Five composite photographs illustrate a reaction to the alteration
of one of the front door’s properties.
Introduction: Habitually, we are unconscious to the change in our behaviour
brought about by passing through the front door. Defining the spaces separated
by the front door reveals a contrast in behaviour. Inside is private,
a place where we can be ourselves and uninhibited. While outside, we must
be aware of our actions and are affected by social conventions. This is
expressed in the way we dress for example. Often when we come home we
change from fashionable restraining clothes into clothes we value for
comfort and not beauty. The phrase “street angel, house devil”
poetically describes the difference in manor between the two spaces.
Process : Concealment or hiding the inside from the out is a characteristic
of the front door. The front door does more then protect, but also encourages
isolation. By altering this attribute I suggest an alternative: a front
door that allows the inhabitant to see out, thus including the outside
in the inside activities.
Photo scenarios were constructed in order to communicate these ideas.
It became evident however that the scenarios were a very personal reaction
to the proposed situation. I decided to address this in my method of presentation.
Each scenario is presented to the viewer as a small photograph. The size
permits only one person to view the images at a time and allows each person
to consider the content personally. This provides the opportunity to wonder
what you would do in that situation and if you would like it.
Description: Six composite photographs present a transparent front door.
The door is constructed as a one-way mirror; you can look out but people
on the street cannot see you. These scenario photographs describe different
activities and how they differ due to the transparency of the door. A
girl rushes past as she is dressed only in a towel. Sometimes she sits,
watching the world go by her front door. Somebody posts a letter in the
letterbox; the doorframe frames her as if she were on stage.
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