This work is part of a series of five hyperreal life-size photographic portraits, titled Figures, which was inspired by certain new kinds of behaviour and posture caused by the everyday use of mobile phones.
The series is an attempt not just to document but also question the new ways of being that those devices promote. It is a nod to classical art in the context of modern technology and considers the kind of absent presence that seems to take over once someone begins using a mobile phone — still somewhat present but also suddenly distant and out of reach. Each portrait in the series is deceivingly realistic and easily mistaken for a real person for a split second — the time it takes to pick up your phone.
The work is printed on archival semi-matte paper, back mounted on aluminium composite sheet and framed in powder-coated marine grade aluminium.