Object of suspicion, 2019
In this series I look at how women, particularly young, attractive women, are often treated suspiciously in Australia. In these images we see how a ‘body language expert’ interprets the facial expressions of Joanne Lees. Lees was the victim of an abduction during which her boyfriend was killed. Before they found the perpetrator, some Australians believed that Lees was implicated in her boyfriend’s death due to her seemingly suspicious behaviour. Some still continue to believe she was the mastermind behind the murder, despite the killer being found and convicted. This supposition is mainly based on how people have interpreted Lees' body language. In this work we see video stills and comments from a YouTube video that perpetrates these same unfounded suspicions and provides further evidence that in Australia, even if you have been a victim of crime, if you are an attractive woman who does not fall apart then you may always be the object of suspicion.
In this series I look at how women, particularly young, attractive women, are often treated suspiciously in Australia. In these images we see how a ‘body language expert’ interprets the facial expressions of Joanne Lees. Lees was the victim of an abduction during which her boyfriend was killed. Before they found the perpetrator, some Australians believed that Lees was implicated in her boyfriend’s death due to her seemingly suspicious behaviour. Some still continue to believe she was the mastermind behind the murder, despite the killer being found and convicted. This supposition is mainly based on how people have interpreted Lees' body language. In this work we see video stills and comments from a YouTube video that perpetrates these same unfounded suspicions and provides further evidence that in Australia, even if you have been a victim of crime, if you are an attractive woman who does not fall apart then you may always be the object of suspicion.