This collection of photographs were taken by myself. They are self-portraits that I took via BlueTooth remote control of my camera. I had a lot of fun with this project and as the pictures were taken they formed a story. I set out to depict good vs bad or heavenly vs evil but it quickly dissolved into something a bit more meaningful. As humans we are vessels for both good and evil, so why not encompass that in this project. The story these pictures tell is inspired by Paradise Lost. The captions should be read in order, the layout is strategic. I will have the captions in chronological order at the end of this page for an easier read of the story itself. The first photo is in color unlike the rest, this is on purpose because it is solid action, it is fact, the rest is left to interpretation, like everything in this life. The title will make sense by the end of this display, but a little hint; the teams are Good vs Evil. Enjoy.
A woman offers the viewer a tea cup. The cup has roses across the front with a gold rim. While roses are beautiful and possess soft petals, they have thorns that can bring a grown man to his knees. Dressed in black the woman could be mourning, or professional, or simply dressed in neutrals. None-the-less her offering hand gives a sense of comfort, of safety.
To enjoy the tea and the viewers company the woman sits down with her own tea cup. She is posed and poised with her legs crossed on a vintage leather couch accompanied by tall bookshelves behind her. She looks like a modern lady thrown into an English library. She smiles as she raises her glass, as should you.
Facing away unaware of the camera the woman sits with a tea cup to her side and a bottle of bleach in her hand tossed over her shoulder like a hand bag.
The woman is filling the tea cup with bleach. Seated directly towards the camera but facing down at her actions she knowingly fills the cup with this poison. A smirk fills her face, as if she is accomplishing something. Fullfilling the needs of someone. Doing the dirty work for the devil himself.
The Garden of Eden should have taught mankind something, yet the devil still works his magic today. The woman holds the tea cup and the bottle of bleach. Her stance is strong, she is carrying everything she needs to kill someone, even though the material and victim themselves will unknowingly kill themselves when consumed. She is a vessel for the devil like the snake was when he took shape in the Garden of Eden before he fell from heaven.
The devil gets what he wants yet the human pays the price. The guilt she bares from her sin is written all over her face. She is guilty. Remorse has yet to enter the frame but she is definitely aware of her doings. She knows who her choices align with.
She made her leader proud. She executed his wishes, she knows she will be rewarded. A moment of satisfaction washes over her now that the deed is done. Yet there is something in the way she has her head titled down that she is supressing something. The urge to apologize? Or perhaps fear of what he will ask her to be capable of next.
It is one thing to clean up a dead body, it is another to clean up a murder’s soul.
The woman’s eye appears to be pitch black only leaving room for a singular reflective orb near her pupil. There is no light in her eyes. The absence of light turns to evil. Has her evil act turned her cold? Or is she simply deep inside searching for a way to break her ties with the devil himself?
Who else to turn to but the devils arch enemy, God. The woman goes to God to confess her sins. Praying for forgiveness only he himself can grant. She has come to terms with her actions, which allegiance she made in that moment of evil. She had so much power, so much control, yet she relinquished it all to the devil by doing his work for him.
Hours of confessing, a lifetime of guilt, the price she pays for turning against the devil himself. She lays lifeless as if she is so deep in her own mind she is not present in the moment. No amount of therapy could fix what she broke. She lays paralyzed in the wake of her sins. Realizing her actions were derived from master manipulation from a genius mind. A leader and who she considered at one time a friend. A fallen angel still has wings, but he made her do such vapid things.
As her session with God comes to a close she realizes that her only way of finding redemption in this life time is to go against the devil and join forces with God. She finds her faith. Never to realize humans are simply vessels for the battle of a lifetime, between good and evil, God and the Devil. Checkmate God said, but the Devil had already claimed his next soul from the sip of the drink she filled.
The Uninterrupted Story-
A woman offers the viewer a tea cup. The cup has roses across the front with a gold rim. While roses are beautiful and possess soft petals, they have thorns that can bring a grown man to his knees. Dressed in black the woman could be mourning, or professional, or simply dressed in neutrals. None-the-less her offering hand gives a sense of comfort, of safety. To enjoy the tea and the viewers company the woman sits down with her own tea cup. She is posed and poised with her legs crossed on a vintage leather couch accompanied by tall bookshelves behind her. She looks like a modern lady thrown into an English library. She smiles as she raises her glass, as should you.
Facing away unaware of the camera the woman sits with a tea cup to her side and a bottle of bleach in her hand tossed over her shoulder like a hand bag. The woman is filling the tea cup with bleach. Seated directly towards the camera but facing down at her actions she knowingly fills the cup with this poison. A smirk fills her face, as if she is accomplishing something. Fullfilling the needs of someone. Doing the dirty work for the devil himself.
The Garden of Eden should have taught mankind something, yet the devil still works his magic today. The woman holds the tea cup and the bottle of bleach. Her stance is strong, she is carrying everything she needs to kill someone, even though the material and victim themselves will unknowingly kill themselves when consumed. She is a vessel for the devil like the snake was when he took shape in the Garden of Eden before he fell from heaven. The devil gets what he wants yet the human pays the price. The guilt she bares from her sin is written all over her face. She is guilty. Remorse has yet to enter the frame but she is definitely aware of her doings. She knows who her choices align with.
She made her leader proud. She executed his wishes, she knows she will be rewarded. A moment of satisfaction washes over her now that the deed is done. Yet there is something in the way she has her head titled down that she is supressing something. The urge to apologize? Or perhaps fear of what he will ask her to be capable of next.
It is one thing to clean up a dead body, it is another to clean up a murder’s soul.
The woman’s eye appears to be pitch black only leaving room for a singular reflective orb near her pupil. There is no light in her eyes. The absence of light turns to evil. Has her evil act turned her cold? Or is she simply deep inside searching for a way to break her ties with the devil himself?
Who else to turn to but the devils arch enemy, God. The woman goes to God to confess her sins. Praying for forgiveness only he himself can grant. She has come to terms with her actions, which allegiance she made in that moment of evil. She had so much power, so much control, yet she relinquished it all to the devil by doing his work for him. Hours of confessing, a lifetime of guilt, the price she pays for turning against the devil himself. She lays lifeless as if she is so deep in her own mind she is not present in the moment. No amount of therapy could fix what she broke. She lays paralyzed in the wake of her sins. Realizing her actions were derived from master manipulation from a genius mind. A leader and who she considered at one time a friend. A fallen angel still has wings, but he made her do such vapid things.
As her session with God comes to a close she realizes that her only way of finding redemption in this life time is to go against the devil and join forces with God. She finds her faith. Never to realize humans are simply vessels for the battle of a lifetime, between good and evil, God and the Devil. “Checkmate” God said, but the Devil had already claimed his next soul from the sip of the drink she filled. It was a tie and another innocent soul had to die.
Beautiful. Disturbing. Thoughtfully executed. A wonderful meditation on Milton and on the grayness between good and evil!
Damn! This is so dope Susan! You really capture the emotion in every image. It kind of makes me uncomfortable in a good way? Like the way you play off of the camera really makes the viewer an active participant in your photo. Adding that to a full series with a story, and you’ve made a really dope project here. If Milton wasn’t blind (and dead) he would surely raise a glass to this faithful adaptation. Good work!