Artists statement

Artist’s Statement

My project was an adaption of Sophie Calle’s project The Hotel. I went into the bathroom of three different apartments and took pictures of the shower, medicine cabinet, and sink. I paid particular attention to the products that were there. My hope was to find out by how many products they had how long it took them to get ready.

I had a lot to contemplate with this project. I wanted to keep it voyeuristic so the people who’s stuff I was photographing didn’t have a chance to hide anything. But at the same time, I felt bad exploiting them without them knowing. I finally decided that the best way to go about it was to take the pictures, then tell them that I did and was using them for a project and assure them that they would remain completely anonymous. I had originally taken pictures of 5 apartments, but 2 wished not to participate and were actually quite angry about it.

I chose a photo project because it is extremely difficult to get an idea about somebody’s identity without any sort of visual. I thought the best way to do it would be a voyeuristic photo project because then the person had no time to prepare. If they have time to prepare then you are seeing the person they want you to see, not who they actually are. 

My main goal of this project was to find out why it takes women so long to get ready to go somewhere. I knew they had more stuff they did to get ready, but I did not realize how much more. I realized that women use so many things to get ready that there is no way they will be able to get ready to get dressed up quickly. Especially when women want to do their nails or put on makeup, that takes up most of the time judging by how much there is. 

I think this project shows that women have a lot more they want to do to get ready then men do. But this project could be criticized in a few different ways. First of all, I had to use people I knew, so therefore I already had an opinion about their habits. Had I done strangers there would have been no way I could have known how long they take to get ready. However, there would have been no way for me to get into a stranger’s bathroom to take pictures without their knowing.

I am hoping people see this as a look into the other sex’s lives, but I know some people will view it as an invasion of privacy. That is what I thought when I first saw Calle’s project. This was not meant to exploit any individuals, this was merely meant to get an insight into why women take so long to get ready.