Biography (Reflected) places the present self between the lives of others. Two stacks of biographies and autobiographies frame a mirror, bringing the viewer’s reflection into relation with people whose stories have helped Seth consider how to live his own life. A clock, calendar and thermometer record the conditions of the encounter, making each photograph taken in the mirror a portrait with information about its moment built into the image.

Medium: Mixed-media assemblage
Materials: Full-length mirror, biographies and autobiographies, desk clock, calendar, thermometer, stickers, handwritten Data Frame, custom curled brass rod and jellyfish ornament
Location: The Rigley Field

Components and arrangement

Lives collected
The books reflect Seth’s longstanding interest in factual accounts of other people’s lives. Biographies and autobiographies offer insight, entertainment and opportunities to consider his own choices through the experiences of others. Arranged by physical dimensions, the two stacks place these influences alongside his present reflection.

The mirror
The work began in November 2025 with the mirror leaning against the wall in its current location. The books were introduced later. Stickers reading “You” and “now!” and a handwritten Data Frame address the person reflected in the glass. A custom curled brass rod holds a jellyfish ornament near the top.

Time and temperature
Objects atop the book stacks changed throughout development before the arrangement settled on a desk clock, calendar and thermometer. Together, they recall the time-and-temperature signs Seth grew up seeing. These instruments also serve a practical purpose: when included in a photograph of the reflection, they record information about the moment directly within the image.

A surface for documentation
The mirror became the setting for Snap Punches, the recurring photographic practice begun in November 2025, as well as Antoine Selfies and Bond. It records the person standing before it alongside the room’s continuing development.

Interaction

Visitors are invited to photograph themselves in the mirror, adding their own moment of self-documentation to the practice that began the piece.