LAURENCE PHILOMENE VS OTHERS
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How did Me vs Others develop?
I started the series in December 2014 - I had a recently dyed my hair orange and happened to have an orange wig lying around and I thought it would be a fun experiment to dress my friend Edwin up as myself and take a self-portrait that way. From that point on, I became more and more interested in developing the idea and creating a series that was based on visual cues of myself projected onto others (which, at the end of the day, I think most photographers do anyway as such is the nature of the gaze/photography itself). Our current society is very obsessed with newness, but I really like long-term work; working on the same idea year after year and seeing how it evolves with time, so that’s also largely what this work is about. At first this series was very much about wanting to hide myself, and over time it has become more about exploring different facets of myself; whom I feel I am vs who I want to be, how I feel I am perceived, etc. Sometimes I also just like to have fun with it and create a sort of fantasy world for this character of “me” to exist in. At the end of the day it is a self-portrait series, and it’s about creating an imaginary visual diary of my life; some of it is romanticized, some of it not, the viewers are left to decide which is which.
I started the series in December 2014 - I had a recently dyed my hair orange and happened to have an orange wig lying around and I thought it would be a fun experiment to dress my friend Edwin up as myself and take a self-portrait that way. From that point on, I became more and more interested in developing the idea and creating a series that was based on visual cues of myself projected onto others (which, at the end of the day, I think most photographers do anyway as such is the nature of the gaze/photography itself). Our current society is very obsessed with newness, but I really like long-term work; working on the same idea year after year and seeing how it evolves with time, so that’s also largely what this work is about. At first this series was very much about wanting to hide myself, and over time it has become more about exploring different facets of myself; whom I feel I am vs who I want to be, how I feel I am perceived, etc. Sometimes I also just like to have fun with it and create a sort of fantasy world for this character of “me” to exist in. At the end of the day it is a self-portrait series, and it’s about creating an imaginary visual diary of my life; some of it is romanticized, some of it not, the viewers are left to decide which is which.
Can you tell us more about Arizona O'Neil reinterpretation of your work?
Arizona came up to me a few months ago and asked me if I’d like to collaborate with her on a video project - I had been sitting on this idea of turning me vs others into moving images, so I told her my base idea for the film and basically let her run with it. For me, the series is more about the loss of self but she chose to interpret it the other way around which I found really interesting - she made the film about finding a sense of self, or a sense of belonging. I think she did a really beautiful job!
Arizona came up to me a few months ago and asked me if I’d like to collaborate with her on a video project - I had been sitting on this idea of turning me vs others into moving images, so I told her my base idea for the film and basically let her run with it. For me, the series is more about the loss of self but she chose to interpret it the other way around which I found really interesting - she made the film about finding a sense of self, or a sense of belonging. I think she did a really beautiful job!
What brought you to work on individual identity?
I've been working on identity for about 10 years now. I grew up as an only child with a chronic illness that kept me home alone a lot, so I spent a lot of time with myself growing up, which left me with a lot of free time to reflect on myself. As a freelance artist, I also work alone/from home so that theme has continued into my adulthood - much of my work is about gender identity, and this project at times is about that as well, but it casts a wider net, and acts as a space where I can play with the idea of identity itself as a whole. I think identity is a big, big question of our time. Like, what does it mean for us all to be different? And how can we come together through these differences? We live in a very individualistic society - capitalism tells us to fend for ourselves first and foremost. Identity is also something that’s been very regulated in western/colonial societies, where we all have to fit into certain boxes. I deeply believe that in order for humanity to survive (and thrive) right now we need to let go of that idea, and realize just how connected we all are, and really care for each other. But regardless I find the question of identity fascinating, and I always have.
I've been working on identity for about 10 years now. I grew up as an only child with a chronic illness that kept me home alone a lot, so I spent a lot of time with myself growing up, which left me with a lot of free time to reflect on myself. As a freelance artist, I also work alone/from home so that theme has continued into my adulthood - much of my work is about gender identity, and this project at times is about that as well, but it casts a wider net, and acts as a space where I can play with the idea of identity itself as a whole. I think identity is a big, big question of our time. Like, what does it mean for us all to be different? And how can we come together through these differences? We live in a very individualistic society - capitalism tells us to fend for ourselves first and foremost. Identity is also something that’s been very regulated in western/colonial societies, where we all have to fit into certain boxes. I deeply believe that in order for humanity to survive (and thrive) right now we need to let go of that idea, and realize just how connected we all are, and really care for each other. But regardless I find the question of identity fascinating, and I always have.
Does the use of bright colours have a particular meaning for you?
It's about joy. There’s enough grey in the world. For the first time in history we are able to reproduce so many colours/pigments with so much more ease than previous generations so it’s kind of like, why not?
It's about joy. There’s enough grey in the world. For the first time in history we are able to reproduce so many colours/pigments with so much more ease than previous generations so it’s kind of like, why not?
You will publish a 10-year retrospective book next year, can you tell us more about it? Do you have any other upcoming projects?
Yes! I’ve been working on it for almost a year already, so it’s been a slow but steady process. It will be my first monograph and will include all of my major photographic projects. It will be released in the winter in Paris in collaboration with Editions Lemaitre. After that, I’ll be continuing to do work on trans and non-binary identities, that’s all I will say for now.
Yes! I’ve been working on it for almost a year already, so it’s been a slow but steady process. It will be my first monograph and will include all of my major photographic projects. It will be released in the winter in Paris in collaboration with Editions Lemaitre. After that, I’ll be continuing to do work on trans and non-binary identities, that’s all I will say for now.
