Forged Conveniences Print

This is a mixed media piece, assembled from painted art boards depicting variations of a human face, combined in a single image by layering multiple photographic exposures. This piece is part of an ongoing study that I call "dynamic portraits". The study consists in layering multiple depictions of diverse faces in various states in such a way that appears to portray a single subject. The resulting ambiguities tend to impose on the viewer an involuntary, unsettling drive to attempt and narrow the chaos down to a single facial expression. This proves impossible given the permanent availability of choices, resulting in an image that never seems entirely static. Some figures seem to display ambiguity of gender or race as well. I feel that this piece shows an ethnic ambiguity that is accentuated by the choices of color. For this reason, I inscribed on the image four verses about a certain kind of violence that relies on ambiguities to silence the consciousness of accomplices: racism. The title attempts to stress the little recognized fact that any perceived conveniences produced by privilege are in the long run proven cost-ineffective and therefore false.