In the formerly working class, but now rapidly gentrifying, neighborhood Greenpoint in Brooklyn, many residents take great care to decorate their windows. From stuffed animals to figurines to pictures of deceased family members, every window has its own personality and reveals something about the inhabitant, while at the same time hiding the interior from view. A window is the public facet of the private space and can make us imagine something about the dark interior of the dweller. In this way windows act as a metaphor for people's identity: a facade that is a showcase and a mask at the same time. These collection of photographs is therefore representative of my work, in that I document and study identity by reporting on the relationship between exterior and interior, and the role visual appearances play in negotiating the two.
MAAIKE HOLVAST
Storytelling
on
Identity