beauty box kenya (2014)
maasai mara, kenya. 21/7/2014 – 28/7/2014
a series of universal questions about beauty, translated into their native dialects,
are asked via headphones within a private booth.
inside, the participant stare at themselves reflected in a mirror.
what is beauty?
is it in the shape of a face, or body?
or, does it come from inside of a person?
is beauty the smell of a baby’s head?
is it the memory of your mother’s hand on your head in the sunlight?
is a sunset or sunrise beautiful?
is there beauty in art?
do you see or feel beauty?
do you think african beauty is different to western beauty?
do you think beauty changes as you get older?
do you think about beauty?
does beauty give you pleasure?
is beauty more often in nature, or man made?
do you own things of beauty, or are they for everyone to enjoy?
when you think about it, what is beauty to you?
these questions were asked over a one minute period, one photo was taken every 5 seconds during this period to document the visual response to the face staring back at the participant.
nb: as this project was part of a Master of Fine Art research degree, appropriate explanation of creative and academic intent was explained to all concerned, and then required consent was sought and granted by each participant.