Retail Therapy Print - Limited Edition of 100

Retail Therapy is a Contemporary Layered Photography Piece I started in 2017, but did not show or sell until 2021. It’s conceptions are focused on beauty, both inner and outer, and the fine line that can separate or intertwine the complexities between the two. This is #2 in my 5 part Series “ The Mannequin’s Mind “. The Series tells a story, a tragedy of trauma, the effects, and coping mechanisms that we all use to deal with stress. Surrounded by her beautiful things, she is trying so very hard to pretend she is ok. When we lack inner peace, self love, or have gone through a traumatic experience, there are moments when we “Game Face”. Whether it comes from within, or without, most would agree to know that feeling and trying to fill up that emptiness with other things. Being nude, she may be attempting to use sexual gratification to feed the hole that is growing larger. The beauty also represents who she still is inside, but is no longer able to see that beautiful woman she once was. This is the beginning of her demise. I really wanted to make the entire Series beautiful, so not only that it is appeasing to the eye, but to show that beauty she thought was lost, was inside of her the entire time. The Photography used in this Series is mostly photos from House on the Rock in Wisconsin. It is an awesome place that is filled with inspiration. With “Retail Therapy” and the entire Series, it was all my own Photography, nothing cut, using the entire Photographs. I incorporated layers upon layers of photography to create depth and light, which I still use that method to this day. I do Paint, and it feels the same to me, the “under painting” , the emotion I put into it. It changes the Photographs and takes them to a more personal level of Expression.