A Very Fine House (Mantlepieces)

A Very Fine House (Mantlepieces) explores society’s focus on domestic perfection using portraiture with several generations of family photographs. It aims to challenge preconceptions by breaking family cycles. This work is created in collaboration with family members through rebellious intrusions that disrupt their home environments.  

This project takes inspiration from historical portraiture with staging and body language that juxtapose the formal subject and the chaotic environment.  This work aims to break down traditional ideals in a destructive but playful manner through expressions and gestures that are reflected in the family archives.  

These archives span decades and show the changing aesthetics of family portraits alongside the evolution of photography itself. A Very Fine House (Mantlepieces) questions perfection and asks why society raises us to be perfect when life, in fact, is not.