Projects + Exhibitions > Making Up

As I have been making work about being a mother and the constantly shifting interactions of a child growing up, this work is a series of photos which document a collaboration between me and my daughter. She is 12 years old now which is vastly different from our first performance at age 6 of In Balance With.

Given a 'tour' of my clothes, makeup, socks, shoes, etc., she was given the timeframe of one-hour to dress me and make me up. It was a cross between playing together, playing dolls, dressing a live model/doll, and spending time with each other. The outcomes were wildly unexpected and grossly more mature than I ever thought she would do given the opportunity to put absolutely ANYTHING on her mother.

Each of these is printed at 68" x 44" on archival Epson photo paper.

A photograph series of different outfits picked out by my daughter in a collaborative project called Making Up.  You can follow my progress on Instagram @courtneykesselart. Photography by Courtney Kessel
Making Up
68" x 44"
2017