UnCultured

Damien Rudd - Objects of Intimacy (2011)

“A person’s pillow is their most intimate object. For this project I have photographed 5 pillows from 5 different people. Each pillow is at a different stage of transformation relative to its age and frequency of use. 

With these images I aim to show something that is generally hidden. To view them is to see a part of the owner; the history is the relationship between the owner and the object. The pillow is moulded and transformed by the markings of bodily fluids so it becomes as individual and distinctive as that of a fingerprint. It is no longer an innate manufactured object, but is now impregnated with life and mutation.

Each pillow was photographed in the same manner a forensic scientist may examine criminal evidence. The hidden and discreet is now open for public close study. When an individual’s pillow is relieved publicly, it causes a sensation of embarrassment and shame. In our culture, the exertion of bodily fluids is considered distasteful. This is especially true when it may be associated to sleeping in one’s bed. We find it somehow disturbing, yet fascinating, as it is one human occurrence that unites us and emphasizes that in the end, we are just merely human.”