Intimate Strangers
The movie "Buffalo 66", written and directed by Vincent Gallo, tells the story of a released convict that kidnaps a teenage student on the way to visit his parents, in order to present her to them as his girlfriend. He forces her to pretend they're in a loving and intimate relationship.
In my work titled "intimate strangers" I suggest randomly chosen strangers to have an intimate acquaintance. I take photographs with them in their private space; their living rooms, bedrooms, bathrooms, back yards, and any place that's scorched with their personal memory. I request that they look at me, think about me, and remember me. The encounter is singular and short, and harbors a sensation of its infinite possibilities, a unique and magical moment overpowering the everyday stale and automated existence. In every encounter I stage an intimate moment, an artificial acquaintance. I'm looking for affection in estranged environments, occupying a contradicting position both distant and involved, repulsed and attracted, feeling a sense of belonging and of loneliness all at once, affection experiencing both empathy and a struggle of domination.
During the course of my work I was able to produce these intimate moments in various environments, situations and with different individuals, to create privacy everywhere and closeness with anyone. In a relative short period of time I've managed to create an industry of intimacy.
