About the Project
The Idea.
I want to take advantage of the fact that society believes it is more appropriate for an artist to manipulate and sell another’s image, than for that person to sell their own, to support and uplift the people most impacted by puritanical online policies.
Who.
All the protagonists of this project will be sex workers who have encountered online censorship. Personal appearance (pose, clothing etc.) will be decided by the protagonist, as I believe an important aspect of agency is allowing people control over how they present themselves to me.
What.
I will be creating 8” x 10” paintings of photos that have been removed from Instagram. These will submitted by the protagonists and must be of themselves. The original painting will be theirs with the option for me to hold it for a year for exhibition opportunities.
When.
The ideal timeline will be to produce at least one painting a week for 3 months with time for evaluation then to determine if we are interested in continuing.
Where.
Paintings will be posted on Instagram with the protagonist tagged and a caption of their choosing. This website will be linked in the bio and will have a page for every painting. The written content and links on each painting’s page will be decided by the protagonist.
The protagonist may, at any time for any reason, rescind consent for their image to be shown. In this case, the painting and content will be immediately removed from both the website and Instagram.
Contact Me.
If you are interested in participating, feel free to use the contact form or DM the instagram, @SW.Portraits.