Gesichtsausdruck/
Gefühl
Expression/Emotion
Gesichtsausdruck/Gefühl is a social experiment where all subjects are sitting on a chair, in the exact same position, under the exact same light, without being aware of the purpose of the session.
One picture is taken, after a few minutes in an uncomfortable silence.
The purpose is to capture the essencial emotion that every person is going through.
I asked these people (also known as friends) to sit on a chair and "wait until I'm done with regulating the camera settings". They sat down, intrigued with the whole thing. While I was "setting the camera ready" they were left there, and their emotions emerged almost immediately.
The picture captures the subjects all the way to the knee, and for a simple reason: your posture tells more about you than you can imagine. At first everyone sat straight. A few minutes later they let loose, and started unconsciously sitting in the way they actually felt like sitting.
Even though they're all facing the same way, in the same position, under the same light, and were given the exact same instructions, all results are surprisingly different.
Same expression. Different emotion.
Myself: It didn't take me too long to start daydreaming about some other reality.
I was feeling oddly distracted.
Leander (boyfriend): Everything's been a little hectic lately for the sweet darling Leander.
He was extremely exhausted that evening.
Diogo: This guy has the greatest humor I've ever seen. You'd meet him on a shitty day, and still laugh your ass off the entire time.
He was feeling contagiously joyful. As usual.
Alex: As a musician, Alex has a relaxed and cheerful personality, just like on stage. But when I asked him to sit down, he felt a little suspicious right away.
He was a bit uncomfortable regarding this experiment.
Gonçalo: The passion between the sea and this guy is something you couldn't ever possibly tear apart. Gonçalo was up that day since 06h45 just to be able to surf the perfect wave, in mid winter.
By the time we took the picture he was already very tired, sore, but chill.
Suzana: Sweetheart Suzi here is a horse riding instructor. Even though her time is counted to the second, Suzi always finds the time to meet up, hang, and occasionally help in whatever she can.
She was feeling happy for being able to be part of this project.
Rui: As a thrash metal singer, Rui is usually an extremely energetic, joyful, beer-lover fella. But right before I took the picture, he was talking about how his team had lost a game that day.
So he was feeling a little upset about their loss.
