Fine Art: Abstract (AMATEUR) - HONORABLE MENTION
Blueprints

Photo © Joana P. Cardozo
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“Blueprints” gravitates toward the notion that our home is the reflection of ourselves. Instead of conventional photographic portraiture, in this body of work I reveal the personalities of my subjects by depicting the contents of their homes. “Blueprints” do resemble architectural floor plans; however, they are in fact an unusual form of portrait.
Like a mirror, a home reflects the identity of their inhabitants. I enter and I see the reflection of the host, and also a fragment of myself. Every object within the walls of my subject’s home, rendered inside the divisional lines of my “Blueprints,” is a clue about the person's character and personality. The way the content of a house is arranged reveals, in a whisper, whether the person is organized, chaotic, romantic, divorced.
With my camera, I write a single-page biography of each subject. I enter. I pick objects. I remove them from their places. I place them in front of a light source. I create a new object. I photograph such creation. I put the object back. The shadow is gone. It is now a photograph.
The choice of each specific item is my way of illustrating aspects of my subject's life. I place these items in the floor plan of their homes, creating an image structure that resembles a patchwork. I expose to the viewer my perception of the person portrayed. Such exposure is not sharp, it is neither precise nor translucent; it is rather blurred, hard to read, just like portraits can be.
Diane Arbus once said, “The contents of somebody’s bathroom is like reading their biography.” “Blueprints” do not depict my subjects faces, hands, or likenesses—still, they are a reflection of each person. They are a reverse projection, a negative of the original. It is indeed like reading their biography.
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“Blueprints” gravitates toward the notion that our home is the reflection of ourselves. Instead of conventional photographic portraiture, in this body of work I reveal the personalities of my subjects by depicting the contents of their homes. “Blueprints” do resemble architectural floor plans; however, they are in fact an unusual form of portrait.
Like a mirror, a home reflects the identity of their inhabitants. I enter and I see the reflection of the host, and also a fragment of myself. Every object within the walls of my subject’s home, rendered inside the divisional lines of my “Blueprints,” is a clue about the person's character and personality. The way the content of a house is arranged reveals, in a whisper, whether the person is organized, chaotic, romantic, divorced.
With my camera, I write a single-page biography of each subject. I enter. I pick objects. I remove them from their places. I place them in front of a light source. I create a new object. I photograph such creation. I put the object back. The shadow is gone. It is now a photograph.
The choice of each specific item is my way of illustrating aspects of my subject's life. I place these items in the floor plan of their homes, creating an image structure that resembles a patchwork. I expose to the viewer my perception of the person portrayed. Such exposure is not sharp, it is neither precise nor translucent; it is rather blurred, hard to read, just like portraits can be.
Diane Arbus once said, “The contents of somebody’s bathroom is like reading their biography.” “Blueprints” do not depict my subjects faces, hands, or likenesses—still, they are a reflection of each person. They are a reverse projection, a negative of the original. It is indeed like reading their biography.
About author:
Joana P. Cardozo was born and raised in Sao Paulo, Brazil. She attained a Bachelor of Law degree at PUC-SP and a masters degree in International Financial Law at King’s College London (UK). In 2013, Joana decided to dedicate herself entirely to photography. Recently, she graduated from the International Center of Photography in New York where she currently works as a photographer.BACK TO GALLERY