It seems my fascination with people of the metropolis and the stealthy study of them has led me to study “their studies of me” as a secondary quest.
In the past, moments when the subject notices me taking their photo as or before I release the shutter were rare. Over the years the various reactions of those subjects have increasingly become priceless to me. Today, a subject captured unknowingly isn’t necessarily the “mission complete” it used to be – as I often find myself keeping targets locked in sight until the moment they notice and react to my presence.
Dramatizing the relationship between a subject and a photographer, being the General Public and myself, Le Contact Visuel presents a series of romantic episodes or involuntary portraits – where interpretive facial expressions and gestures reveal the raw reactions of individuals, subconsciously communicating their thoughts on being photographed without consent. Collectively, the series suggests a majority of the General Public would disapprove of my actions, at least on a first-impression-basis, or so I would have you believe.