EYES ON YOU

2022, Bleached and Hand-Sewn denim

Eyes on You is a reworked denim jacket that confronts the reality of constant surveillance. Bleached and distressed, the jacket’s worn surface reads like an exposed skin; weathered, vulnerable, and marked by the passage of time. On the back, hand-sewn eyes cluster and stare outward, their imperfect stitching insisting on the human labor behind the watchful gaze. The piece draws on the concept of the panopticon, a term developed by Jeremy Bentham. The panopticon is a prison design allowing constant, all-seeing surveillance from a central point. Drawing on this concept, Eyes on You combines watcher and watched into one wearable tableau.