ADULT = THE SERVANT OF THE INNER CHILD

Peeling layers off oneself is a lifelong inquisitiveness beneath the skin.

This project delves into facets of human conditioning in adulthood, aiming to examine and comprehend our behavior by posing questions such as: How aware are we of the connection between past experiences and the patterns we have developed? How much of our identity is a collection of pre-approved societal norms, political ideologies, and cultural and parental influences?

The self is prone to conforming to social customs and norms in the name of adaptation, assuming roles and masks to fit into the environment. While the primary source of suffering may be external, rebellion can begin with self-liberation. True non-conformity can emerge from an inward turn, resisting unhelpful conditioning.

The photographs aim to emphasize the invisible forces that govern our lives, prompting us to question how we can identify and dismantle the systems of oppression deeply ingrained within us. The past lingers in our unconscious, influencing our future. We are products of our conditioning, just as our conditioning is a product of us. As adults, we serve our inner child daily. Authentic actions often require resisting what comes automatically to us — automatic responses are reflexive reactions to conditioning that may have long aimed to divorce us from our essence. 

I began the process by engaging each participant in a dialogue about the significant experiences that have shaped their lives and the blueprints formed from these events. To illuminate and make these patterns and constructs more accessible for examination, I have invited the participants to engage in an act of imagination and expression following the interviews. The cube, with its transparent facets reflecting back to its holder, represents past experiences, while the physical body symbolizes the unconscious mind shaped by these experiences. In this context, I began to translate the interviews into a visual narrative, portraying eight women confronting old beliefs, traumas, and habitual patterns.

Self-knowledge is not about finding a  definitive description of who we are at any given moment; it is about committing to the process of introspection and discovering new ways of shedding light on different aspects of ourselves.