Living In A Box
Portfolio Play Date v6 was inspired by the virtual photo shoot I sat for with famed photographer Jeremy Cowart earlier in quarantine.
I pitched the initial idea as one for the students to riff on. Play dates are always a collaborative experience.
This month, as part of a larger student-led learning initiative, Danté wanted to explore people in isolation. He noted, “During these difficult times, alone in our rooms, I think to myself - What would it be like to be stuck in someone else’s home?”
And so the seed I planted for PPDv6 grew into a virtual photo shoot exploring people in their quarantine space. Danté took lead in creative direction, helping each of our 10 subjects with positioning their equipment and themselves to optimize lighting and composition.
Danté’s approach was one of care and curiosity. He asked each of us to grab an item we kept nearby and invited us to explore its significance in the space. It was a very intimate, connecting experience.
In addition to the photos he took via screen capture, Danté asked each of us to answer a series of prompts to more deeply contextualize the pangs of our individual isolation. He shared his edited photos paired with our words in a beautiful Instagram story, which can still be seen as a highlight on his profile.
While Danté was taking screen captures, I was projecting the feed from our Zoom call on a textured wall in my office and taking photos of the projections. The result was something bit more gritty, the color a bit off. Like a bruise. Like life in quarantine.
These are my edits, riffing on some of the styles and aesthetic established in Danté’s project - Living in a Box.
