Nora Cazenave
On the Way Home, 2021
Digital photographs
Dimensions Variable
Over the course of the past couple months, I’ve photographed portraits of strangers in Santa Monica, where I live. On the Way Home focuses on the faces, expressions, personalities, and characteristics of my subjects. At its core, On the Way Home is about human interaction, perception, and community. It’s brought me the unique opportunity to have conversations and interactions with strangers, however brief, in a time when my world typically doesn’t extend far beyond the confines of my home and computer screen.
As for perception— I’m someone who is very much drawn to stories and storytelling, and with each image I wonder who I’m really photographing, and what their individual stories are. I notice the environment around me, and remember the way different people react to being asked for a photo. I consider the way they interact with me, and if there are any anecdotes that go along with the image of them that I’ve created. While this is a project reliant on human interaction, it still doesn’t provide a full picture of these individuals or who they are. The photographs are limited on a physical and aesthetic level by their masks, and limited on a more personal level by the brevity of our conversations.
Through the synthesis of my photographs with notes, observations, anecdotes, and titles, I explore the following questions: Who do we see when we look at these photos? What do I know about them based on our extremely limited conversations? What do I know about myself now that I’ve gone through this experience? What do we, as the viewers, perceive about each of these people, and what does that say about us?
