Doublefaced 2013 is a series of photographs created by Berlin-based multi-disciplinary artist Sebastian Bieniek. It follows the everyday life of a girl with two faces. Taking make up and starting the faces at each eye, it is simple visual trickery with a pretty unsettling effect.
After achieving attention from all over the globe, it was recently named by Design Boom as one of 2013’s top ten pieces of body art. But how did it all come about? He first came up with the idea while playing with his son during bath time, describing how ‘wet hair covered one of his eyes, soap covered his ear, he looked in the mirror and said, dad look my face moved’.
The series follows doublefaced girl through all kinds of everyday events, playing with angles and depth to achieve all kinds of scenarios. Mirror, reflections and different angles are used cleverly, showing how versatile this idea can be.
It’s also a little bit disconcerting. This is because human faces are fundamental in everyday interaction, so we instantly feel uneasy if we can’t recognise emotion or normal characteristics.
In this way it is similar Rut Mackel’s project The Ugly Truth, where models held their faces against a glass panel to give the impression of strange deformities. This aimed to challenge how we perceive people with disfigurements, but because we inextricably link identity with looks we can’t help changing our perception of someone if they look different. That’s why, no matter how sweet, friendly or normal doublefaced girl seems, we’ll always be left with a strange aftertaste.
However, I think there’s something really important that this series also gets at. It’s a display of playful imagination and resourcefulness, making use of what’s readily available. This shows that you don’t need the latest technology or expensive equipment to really make an impact, ‘cause it’s the idea that’s the most important.