When I look in the mirror

When I look in the mirror positions the viewer in an impossible alternate reality, where they put themselves in the shoes of someone who’s forgotten who they are. The piece nudges the viewer to make considerations about how they treat the elderly as well as to reflect on what their own future may look like.

A collection of testimonials by people aged 30 to 70, responding to the prompt “What do you see when you look in the mirror?” is the audio track to a sequence of stills of covered mirrors. The mirrors are covered by fabrics found in the environment or items of clothing the photographer had on herself.

Mirrors, integral to daily routines, symbolise society's obsession with external appearances, heightened by selfie culture. We observe, we have expectations, we interpret, we edit. For better or worse, we see ourselves when we look in the mirror.

There is an implied dialogue between our present self-perception and our uncertain future. Today we see ourselves, but will we tomorrow?

In advanced stages of Alzheimer’s disease, individuals often fear and fail to recognise their own reflection, leading caregivers to cover mirrors. Amongst all the thoughts and feelings expressed in the testimonials, none contemplated the prospect of not recognising their own reflection.

Before a degenerative mental decline we can ponder a question that we might not be able to postulate once we no longer recognise our own reflection: What happens when the reality the mirror shows is not the one we live in?