This particular series has a profound meaning and story behind it but it’s probably something you would never guess unless I tell you what it stands for.
As you know I observe people and their behaviors I find it absolutely fascinating. It’s amazing what makes people love, what makes people hate and what can make someone do anything really.
Throughout my life I noticed a pattern and that pattern was more profound in school or groups outside class as I got older. Sometimes it was easier to see when they were alone one on one with me because serious changes were apparent. Society suffers from a deadly ailment but the problem is, we don’t even know we have it because there are no visible symptoms. Those infected will never feel sick to the physical body but their soul and heart will feel it the most. If you look at someone you wouldn’t know anything was wrong unless you are able to read energy of people as I can.
What I am talking about is self-esteem. I see so many individuals play this role of what they think a certain click or individual wants them to be like. They feel that if they play this role they will get them as a friend as long as they don’t know the real “you”. They will go to any lengths to please those individuals or groups.
Some will attack and injure someone else to please the person or group despite the fact it’s killing them to do it. People create a false sense of style that’s not them which makes it more awkward; but when you get them alone or with another group or individual they change again. I guess you could call it the “chameleon disease”.
The problem that rises from not being true to who you are is that you are living a lie. The individual loves the role you are playing and not the real you. Once they find you are fake, they tend to leave or turn on you. These roles an individual plays are weak and very stressful because like a lie you always have to remember what you said and did last in order to continue the story; eventually the truth comes out and many individuals are not prepared for that day.
We are all special. We are all individuals with different points of view in religion, sexual preferences, political views, race, ethnic traditions, music and entertainment preferences. By hiding that we become lost, we merge into a persona taking us from the individual we are that makes the world unique.
Sometimes people are very scared to hear the word racist, anti-Semite, fascist, bigot, stupid, quirky, and other words and labels people use to bully us into conforming. Society can be just as much the cause of one’s personal outlook on themselves.
Changing for these groups or individuals by force or for the wrong reasons can destroy the individual. We should never change ourselves to conform to anyone else’s preference. If they don’t like us for who we are by loving our flaws, our strengths, our style and our outlook then they are not worth your time or energy. Trying to bully them into conforming to you and accept you is a waste of time as it’s a phony connection, doomed from the start and will only breed disdain toward you over time.
This photo shows a girl who is obviously in a place of disarray and decay which represents the world she thinks she’s living in. The mask she wears hides her true beauty keeping her inner light extinguished from the darkness around her. This essentially creates a whole new problem for her. Despite the dress, the perfect hair, and what you see on the outside the mask is simply a metaphor for her self-esteem issue; she has to hide herself because she thinks that’s what the world wants.
Think about this photo next time you worry about your weight, your views, your style or whatever makes you, you! Don’t hide it, don’t let people bully you into their view of what you should look like and be like. LOVE who you are and those that don’t see eye to eye, they refuse to accept you for who you are… turn your back and walk away from them. If you can’t you are doomed to be a slave to those who can control you. Don’t wear that mask which is no different than a leash.
*** THE TITLE – La Femme Masquée – cacher la vérité means (The Masked Woman, Hiding the Truth)
*** This place we shot this at was one of the strangest locations I ever encountered. It was in the middle of the woods in Picnic, FL. It was an abandoned church. People have gone inside and tore it apart. There were remnants of pews and religious items but also on the floor in wax was a pentagram and other satanic symbols. Upon walking in, it gave a strange feeling but we didn’t see the satanic things until we were just about to leave. In one of the pictures you will see a huge dark shadow covering 3/4 of the room. It was in one photo and not the other photo but taken in the same room with no windows. It was very strange. That night both me and the model suffered from horrific nightmares. It took me a few days to recover.
You can see the entire series in “Dreams, Nightmares, Fears and Fantasy” Volume 4 gallery on this website.
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