S— said it was because they operated like eyes, which looked and saw. I agreed. She mentioned Lacan’s quote: “You never look at me from the place from which I see you. Conversely, what I look at is never what I wish to see.” (Jacques Lacan, The Four Fundamental Concepts of Psychoanalysis, New York: Norton, 1978, p. 103) and some of that is true of the 140 new images I have made depicting reflections in shoe shop fronts, jewelry windows, lingerie displays and bridal-wear.

I also think fantasy has something to do with it. Whereas, in my images, shoe and lingerie shops demand consumption, bridal shops and jewelers are more contemplative. As so they belong to the imaginary of seduction, rather to the actual seduction shops represent these days. Of course, prohibitive prices and the social meaning attributed to those objects have a bearing in this matter. The tension represented in those photos is less “buy me” than “have me, if you dare”, a possession not achieved by purchasing the object, but by owning it and relating to it through phantasy. That’s why these images have trapped me, captured my imaginary.

Posted in Blog,Psychoanalysis,Seduction,Seductive things