Whilst brainstorming around the subject of 'Armour' I looked into camouflage as a form of protection. Animals, insects, fish and birds all use camouflage as a way of protecting themselves as a means of survival, they use it as a way of becoming indistinguishable from their surroundings. Armour can be either offensive or defensive and, even though it may be viewed as the most rudimentary form of armour, it is still a means of protection.
Desiree Palmen, a photographer whos main subject is the camouflage of people, see above. Each suit is designed with the most intricate of detail to allow the person to 'dissolve' into the background. The end effect is to challenge the eye to determine between what is flat and what is spatial. The content of the images is supposed to illustrate the lack of hold the individual has on the world, though is it a world which has a firm hold on the individual. With each image she is inviting the viewer to step closer, to decipher it's hidden commentary and understand the social escape.
I liked the way she could make what would otherwise have been an image of little interest into something engaging by making someone do a double-take of her work and attempt to distinguish the hidden person. I like the visual deceit involved and the idea of hiding within an image or environment. There's a link between Palmen's work and blending into different cultures and social groups so that someone could become essentially invisible, also of hiding in plain view such as an animal would.
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