The Voyeur, Vampires... Vanity

Not everyone who sees a story is interested in nourishing the storytellers. The gap in connection between a silent witness, and a muse or co-creator is staggering.

It was summer time...

One of those days when the humidity... took on a life of its own.

Feeling the warmth from the sun, reflected through the windows into this baroque studio gave the photoshoot a ceremonial almost holy aura, as the white light shone from above, blessing us with it's clarity and yet... our goals during this project were shrouded in mysteries that not even the sun could illuminate. It was a summer of clandestine creativity, and we savoured it.

Any real Canadian already knows how two seasons present radically different versions of Canada to tourists... summer can be as hot as the Sahara... and winter rarely feels like the same country. Except on wild days where we experience all seasons in just a few hours, snow, hail, gusts of wind reminiscent of what Dorothy saw in The Wizard of Oz, incredible mythic days when the question of what to wear is difficult to answer with changing weather.

The model wore a limited edition black crop top with Erotic Art written in gold, this was the unique sleeveless version, with the dark fabric suspended by chains, I designed it for that day.

"Not everyone who watches your story on Instagram supports you." I told her.

She nodded. Her eyes heavy with understanding. "Most of what I post is for other dancers, they're the ones who understand..." She trailed off for a moment.

Our eyes were locked in a psychic dance. We talked about important differences... between people who engage with the art we create, and those who simply give us silent attention.

One of the brilliant parts of a high fashion editorial shoot is how it facilitates deep and fascinating conversations, in-between poses and gestures, as thoughts shape characters and ideas are reflected emotionally, the photoshoot becomes a visual documentary of connection.

The gap in connection between a witness and a visitor, muse and co-creator is pretty staggering.

In our digital, attention-based economy... connections become curated for social media and even the most authentic moments of expression can be totally misunderstood by the audience viewing it from a voyeuristic perspective. Many people live vicariously through artists after they have clicked the follow button, clicking again and again on an the artist's image to stay updated, typing their name in search engines out of curiosity, we live in a culture of voyeurs.

The Voyeur and the Value of Unknowns

Staying curious about life, human nature and the wonders of the universe is essential to living. Moreover, it takes a level of humility to just admit, that you don't know... what you don't know.

The intrigue of unknown knowledge, the magnetic pull of breaking news, taps into the mind in uniquely curious ways... one central desire that provides... endless energy for scrolling is the ancient drive of escapism. From stories around campfires by primitive cultures, to medieval libraries full of fantasies leaping into minds from ink on paper... to live theatre shows bridging the gap from imagined folk tales to orchestrated visual spectacle... people have craved these moments where unknown stories from mysterious people can fill their minds with wonder and temporarily provide an escape from the harsher, more brutish realities of life... but today the voyeuristic journey has become so common.

A question you might even be asking yourself right now in this moment is...

What happened that the once joyous thrill of escapism?

It has a new label you're already familiar with... doom-scrolling.

To put it simply, not everyone telling stories on social media is an artist, or a gifted storyteller, the algorithm will serve up what has been calibrated based on your previous online activity.

Plus, there are companies who spend a lot of money, making sure their sponsored content is there in your feed, pushed as hard as backseat deals of hard drugs, narcotics pushed harder than most people are able to run in backrooms when they hear eccentric sounds from beyond.

So, if you scroll on social media today, Instagram, Twitter or elsewhere, you're bound to hear more than a few strange noises, vibrating from the screen, hoping to attract your attention for reasons that aren't always clear... but in other forms of media, TV shows, films, theatre shows, fashion shows, even though the marketing contained mysteries, you still had a decent sense of what kind of experience you wear buying a ticket for. On the flip side, social media is free but there's simply no guessing what you're going to see in the next few minutes, if most people on social media were artists perhaps we'd have a different name for scrolling, less doom and gloom, more magnetic charisma. Sometimes looking at too much content on social media can feel draining like an evening with digital-vampires who tried... to bite you through a screen.

The Morning Ritual

It's worth mentioning I put a time-limit on my own social media usage and I encourage artists who sign up to develop their creativity here at HOM to do the same... let social media do what it does best... while you appear occasionally to share art and connect with your fans.

Instagram has an option in settings to introduce a daily time limit.

When this is combined with a daily practice of making art, you can find yourself experiencing way more momentum as an artist because of this wonderful upgrade in time management.

Picture this...

You wake up bright and early, beside you is a novel with a page bookmarked from last night.

Then this...

You savour the morning as thoughts drift slowly like the clouds outside. You read a chapter, pacing yourself and letting curiosity motivate you to turn each page. After a few minutes of reading, you get up from bed and pick up a camera to take a picture of the beautiful sky. You put on an album from your favorite artist, taking more pictures as you play around with camera angles.

And this...

You upload one picture onto your phone, adjusting the settings to bring out a more vivid tone, each of these decisions unfolds naturally and spontaneously... because your mind is clear.

Finally...

When satisfied, you reach into your drawer and pull out a paintbrush.

Immersing yourself in art instead of content when you wake up changes your creativity.

Immersing yourself in art instead of content when you wake up inspires you to make art.

Immersing yourself in art instead of content in the morning works wonders for mental health.

This is a typical morning of a visionary artist that subscribed to the Mirror Room, with us artist development is a holistic journey towards a deeper feeling of being at home with yourself as an artist and a human being. Every morning ritual is carefully calibrated to the personality and mediums expressed by each artist who enrolls in our visionary (or performer) mentorship program.. to ensure a smooth transition into a new season with high momentum as an artist.

Most people spend their mornings doomscrolling, then wonder why they feel so drained before they've found any time to make art.

Anything you do consistently builds momentum.

Some civilians doomscroll in the morning, then need to get themselves a coffee, just to find more mental energy to tackle the day after feeling drained by watching random content.

Every day they line up at Starbucks, Tim Hortons, and Second Cup for caffeine.

It's sad and ironic that now the average civilian needs to pay a barista everyday to escape from smartphone escapism. In those coffee shops, their eyes are still glued to the phones.

Those serotonin-sucking posts from digital vampires can be harder to kick than a heroin habit.

Ask any millennial or Gen Zer about their love hate relationship with social media.

Our parents might've been wrong about many things.

But some of them were telling the truth when they said... Put down that damn phone.

Some content creators doomscroll in the morning, absorb all that negativity, and channel it into making AI-slop content... churning it out chasing virality by pushing themselves to express more vanity.

Every day they line up reels on Instagram in vain and rage-bait posts on twitter for validation.

The hours you used to spend aimlessly scrolling on social media, consistently feeling a wave FOMO and anxiety after yet another Instagram commercial called you a stupid, ugly bigot, could be spent exploring performance art, or visionary art in transformative and enlightening ways, it might surprise you how much art you'll create when your momentum switches gears.

Perhaps when the momentum fades by winter time, you'll have created so much art that your mind and body has new habits, ready to be instantly activated with another morning ritual.

Wouldn't that be neat?

In less than 2 weeks, House of Mirrors is hosting an exclusive editorial workshop for models, photographers, makeup artists, hairstylists, and fashion designers who feel curious about what it takes to get published on the cover of international fashion magazines. This is an experience that can nourish your creative process as a visionary or a performance artist.

Tickets are available here on Eventbrite.

In the last few years, I've put more than 50 models in magazines as a fashion photographer.

I have also posed for dozens of editorials myself as a published model. There many magazine covers and dozens of editorials produced by House of Mirrors you can browse in our gallery.

This combination gives me a wide range of experiences to draw from when directing models on set, or working with large editorial teams as a performer to bring a creative vision to life.

What's more is artists have built editorial resumes for decades, you've seen more and more artists working towards getting featured on the cover of magazines... using any resources at their disposal, working tirelessly despite the unpredictable market and tense struggles of life because these artists know one day these editorial resumes will command the premium rates.

Not every creative is up for the challenge of a magazine cover though.

Everyone knows how selective fashion magazines are... thousands of artists submit every month, millions tag magazines on socials, but few artists know what it takes to get published.

If you've ever wondered if you have what it takes to get published in magazines, or if you feel you could do it with guidance, come join us in the Mirror Room on July 26th.

Learn from HOM this summer before the tickets are sold out.