Like Me

Like Me asks: Where does performing for others end, and where does the true self begin?

A woman moves between self-creation and projection—her body shaped by beauty ideals, visibility, and the gaze of others. Observed, sexualized, and slowly objectified, she searches for what lies beneath.

Inspired by Kafka's The Metamorphosis, fashion photography, yoga, and the performative poses of pop culture, a repetitive, physically demanding movement language emerges—as if a transformation were taking place within.


Design Notes:
Like Me presented a specific technical challenge from the outset: I could only be present in person for one evening, which meant the entire design — cuelists, 3D renderings, timing, intensity — had to be prepared with enough clarity and precision that the on-site technician could realise it accurately without me in the room. The constraint shaped the process as much as the artistic brief did.

The concept followed Nadika's transformation — from something insect-like and instinctive in the corner, through the emergence of an elegant, constrained femininity, and back again. Light had to hold that arc without announcing it. I started with back and top light only, keeping her in a tight, almost private world — her face and identity held in shadow, reinforcing the instinctive, animalistic quality of that first state.

As she moved into the woman — the dress, the gloves, the red lipstick — I gradually introduced more frontal light sources to reveal her face, letting her identity emerge into the light. The space only filled once. Every other moment, the lighting followed her closely, switching off anything she didn't need.

The aim was that the light felt inevitable — not designed, but discovered alongside her.