Hello, World. is a reflection of the photographic process, connection, and the data-driven nature of modern photography.

Cognitive data was collected using an EEG (electroencephalogram) placed upon myself and the sitter. The device sits on the head, and when its small pads make contact with specific areas of the scalp, tiny electrical impulses are recorded. Using software and artistic interpretation, the data gathered from various lobes of the brain is then transmuted into the audiovisual work displayed. The occipital lobe, the area responsible for visual processing, modulates the colour of the work. Meanwhile, the frontal cortex, which helps regulate emotions, controls the motion of the work. The arcuate fasciculus, responsible for language processing, was instrumental in controlling the sonic elements.

The process follows a standard photographer/sitter relationship, where the photographic moment is the opening event of the EEG capture. Sitters were invited to set the context in which they were encountered and what they wished to share with me at this moment of exchange. Most chose to speak about their lives and recent experiences when prompted with basic questions about different elements of their lives. Others chose to sit quietly.

In creating these images with my sitters, I aimed to challenge the conventions of photographic knowing, pushing the limits of what we feel a portrait can tell us. Do you know more or less when engaging with this interpretation instead of a final, lens-captured image? The resultant videos offer a view into the idea of the essential exchange which takes place in the “taking of a portrait.” In creating a novel-looking image defined as portraiture, this project emphasizes the emotional, intangible elements of the photographer-sitter relationship. Rather than stagnating the subject in a still frame, this shows the ever-evolving experience of encountering and connecting with others around the camera. By placing the projections in conversation with each other, the viewers are invited to intercept the image-making process and insert themselves into that context.

As a working editorial and portrait photographer, this work is my love letter to the human-to-human process and a testament to the conscious connections we make with each other. This distills photographic exchange into its most essential component: an intimate encounter rooted in trust and empathy.