(2019)

I sourced random strangers found on Swanson Street, Melbourne. This randomness was intentional - I did not want to direct hired actors to act out my specifications but to work with a slice of humanity, with real human responses.

I photographed their facial responses as they watched a disturbing three-minute artwork by Chloe Piene (Blackmouth, 1994). I then asked them to reveal their inner animal to me, in response to the video. Their reactions were diverse, personal, generous, human, intriguing, profound, and beautiful. One subject broke down in tears of frustration and anguish, another allowed me a direct line to their inner animal with spit hanging from their lips as they crawled on the floor. Five minutes after meeting in the street, they were freely and generously giving a stranger an insight into their normally well-protected inner worlds.