Final piece - First Impressions

My First Impressions series draws on inspiration from Gillian Wearing's series 'Signs that say what you want them to say and not signs that say what someone else wants you to say' where she got people to write down exactly what they were thinking.

I asked my subjects to write on a piece of A4 card what they think other people's first impressions of them are. I chose to photograph my subjects in monochrome  for dramatic impact, and with a door that reflected their 'space' in order to create a series. 

The process elicited some interesting responses, some of which (such as 'quirky' and 'gorjus') were perhaps more unexpected that others (such as 'ginger' and 'short'). The first image in particular is thought provoking as the subject recognised that people would see him as a farmer, but he also expected them to be scornful and dismissive of his role in society. Similarly, the subject of the third image believed that people would see the hard-edged 'biker' purely based on his attire and motorbike, rather than seeing the gentle personality I know exists beneath the leather.

NOT ANOTHER !*!? FARMER

HOW DO YOU SPELL GORGUS?

BIKER

GINGER

"Quirky"

GOOD COOK

SHORT