Next Door includes 11 large format portraits obtained by expanding the pictures of a selection of most wanted foreign spies taken from the FBI website. These individuals that are coming from different countries like, for example, China, Ukraine, Russia, Saudi Arabia, and Iran are represented here as a metaphor of the concept of invisibility. Informers are masters at hiding in plain sight. They dress, style their hair and act according to their target. They sacrifice their individual tastes and the chance to express their personality through their look. I find the latter aspect particularly intriguing because feeling at ease in what can be seen as someone else’s skin requires great self-control. To me this attitude appears almost kind of an enduring performance act. They may be seen as individuals practicing illusion in everyday life. However, their goal differs from the traditional magicians as they are not interested in entertaining. Rather, their aim is to obtain confidential information.
eleven found mugshots printed on PVC banners
35'' x 72'' each
