Initial research - Jessica Layton 'House sitting'

Again, this project resonated with me a lot. It's delightfully playful and also slightly cheeky with the way she takes over the home owners persona and even has images made of her as the homeowner.
Jessica Layton looks after homes whilst occupying them for people who are out of the country, she lived in each house no more than three weeks at a time but did house sit for a full 9 months. In every house she'd slowly take on the home owners persona, dressing up in their clothes, acting as the homeowner to strangers and interacting with their living space as the homeowner would. She also invites a photographer in and has a portrait made of her as the homeowner, in what would be her home.

The idea of taking on someone elses personality using their belongings and clues she would pick up by just living in the spaces they live in fascinates me. The images themselves are interesting and look to the viewer as a perfectly normal portrait of a women in her house with her belongings surounding her. But in the context of the prints all together, you start to question where this women belongs, where she actually lives. I'd love to see the prints in a gallery space.

A few for example :

Portrait as Susan taken by Doron Guild

Portrait as Katie by Stephen Wood. (I love how she looks so natural but stiff, as if she's actually invited this photographer into her own space and also how she uses the homeowners pet cat!)

I'd love to have the opportunity to house sit, let alone have the initiative to think of this project. The concept of becoming someone else by using the objects and belongings surrounding really interests me.