in the mirror, where am I? in the mirror, where i am.

hand cut glass, timber, found materials, mirrored film and digital sculpture.

New Contemporaries, Sydney College of the Art, 2023.

As a child, I would stare into the mirror trying to ‘catch out’ my reflection. I sat completely still, gazing at myself. Then, in sudden bursts, I would raise an arm, wink my eye or open my mouth, trying to move faster than my reflection. Each time, my reflection mirrored my actions in perfect timing. Despite constant failure, I kept trying. I was convinced that the person staring back at me was not a reflection at all, but an alternate version of me, living in a parallel universe. I was searching for a presence distinct from myself, that I could reach out into the mirror and touch.

Existence is difficult for the human mind to process holistically. Hence, we demarcate everything into comprehensible parts. This is inside and that is outside. This is the body and that is the mind. This is me and that is you. These boundaries are a fiction that generates an image or signifier of ourselves; to index ourselves inside a conceptual box. However, these categories miss some of the nuance and complexity of our humanity, things that are unsaid but deeply felt. This installation work explores the chasm between self and self image - a nuance of our human identity which often transcends verbal categorisation and can only be generated through an aesthetic experience.