Commended
Like a film still, Secrets by Lauren Hare invites the viewer into a cinematic narrative. A scene that is at first lighthearted shifts to a darker mood upon closer looking. The young woman appears to be absorbed in her interior life as the world bustles around her, and her downward gaze emphasizes her introspection.
Hare’s photographic practice focuses on the complexities of identity, concepts of universal human experience and emotion, and the intersection of one’s private and public life. This portrait is part of a larger body of work influenced by the artist’s “interests in human emotion and fascination with the power of color.”