A Man, Restrained: NOT FOR SALE

Inspired by Ralph Ellison's "Invisible Man" (1953) prologue and Khalil Gibran's "The Prophet" (1923), I built a human man with a functioning heartbeat. Engineered to activate upon touch of the heart, the restrained man's face is built out of mirrors and circuits, designed for the viewer's face to reflect back to them while being able to hear/feel the heartbeat underneath.

This piece was my first engineering project, and one I built when I truly felt invisible. I believed, at the time of creation, that I was someone who was built out of nothing but other people's ideals, and that I had no value unless other people got satisfaction (or a favorable reflection of themselves) out of me. I feel almost maternal or romantic towards the man, and used to kiss him quite often, thinking to myself that we could be alone and invisible together.

Several of my worries are written over and over again throughout the shadows of the piece, meant to represent my former poor self esteem and paranoia. If you are able to read them, no you are not.