Portfolio > Floorplan Series

Over sixty percent of House Plans are bought by women. Floorplans feature such “must haves” as open-concept layouts, master suites and bathrooms, island kitchens, and curb appeal. The women who occupy these spaces are regularly exposed to media encouraging them to be their best self, as defined by others.

The Floorplans Series combines imagery from home floor plans and vintage beauty handbooks. These dated images from self-help books, beauty how-tos, and Home Ec textbooks from the 1950’s and 1960’s instruct women on how to dress, adorn, and behave themselves in order to conform to the high standards of society.

Hand-written transcripts of eavesdropping are added to these images. Interestingly, the English word “eavesdropping” derives from the practice of standing under a house’s eavesdrop in order to hear the conversations taking place inside the home. These stolen conversations are a way of sampling the intimate experiences of others.

The pieces in the Floorplan Series are created utilizing a digital painting and layering technique. The resulting imagery reveals only parts of the combined elements. Much like the actual stolen communication, only a few words of the eavesdropped conversation may be recognizable.