Have you ever wished someone would photograph you fresh out of a long, hot shower? Skin red, hair straggly and wet. Me either. But after seeing photographer Thomas Dozol's current show, "Entre Temps," I'm thinking I wouldn't mind it terribly if he were to stealthily lurk around my bathroom and snap a few frames. The 34-year-old's first solo-exhibition at Envoy Enterprises in New York City, masterfully captures the purity of what's seen when we're alone, and undone.
Apart from having a nanny-cam, this is as authentic as you can get to being a fly on the wall. Dozol, a Parisian native, wanted to do portraits but not in the traditional sense. He says, "I didn't want them to look like they were in control. I wanted to see people at their most vulnerable. And that's hard to do that when you know someone is watching you."
The portraits are at once foreign and familiar. Having become accustomed to slick and contrived HD-ready faces we see everyday, the natural images are at first, almost jarring. You think that they must have been set up to look like they weren't set up. But they're not. Without lighting, make-up, stylists or props, Dozol cuts straight to the beauty. The 30-plus piece collection is nothing short of an oasis from the seemingly endless assault of airbrushing, silicone, Photoshop and Botox.
The subjects range from contemplative to indifferent to self-assured as they towel-dry, drip-dry, discover an unwanted hair, or strike an involuntary mirror face. And then there is the lost daze we all enjoy from time to time. Be it staring at our feet, out the window, or through ourselves, every one of us experiences time away from the world with only our thoughts. Through a trust clearly earned on Dozol's part, subjects share those most intimate moments. They indeed let Dozol "be their mirror."
You'll be hard-pressed to find an image among the collection that would be hard to identify with. At one time or another, most of us have sat listless in a towel, perhaps also with coffee and cigarette in hand. We've brushed our teeth in the shower; we've checked to see how we look from behind. Even the more recognizable faces, like Gwyneth Paltrow and Michael Stipe, look nothing more than human, stripped of all celebrity.
The familiarity of "Entre Temps" provides a sigh of relief, permission, if you will, to say, "We are fine just as we are — even before we prepare ourselves for the world." Vulnerability, is a great equalizer.
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Photos by Thomas Dozol
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