FACADES

Nathalie Gillen's intermediate diploma work, FACADES, deals with the outward appearance of film characters. The focus of the investigation ison immoral characters or villains in film, and they can often be identified by particular external characteristics. In this context, the most common and conspicuous facial features such as blemishes and skin diseases are examined.

In her publication FACADES, Nathalie Gillen introduces the topic by considering how the villains in the history of the film industry came tobe stigmatized. Subsequently, a series of varied illustrations from different eras of film history was shown. In these images, the appearance of amoral characters and villains can be seen. The faces are treated only on the surface, so only her appearance is described. The behaviour and personalities of the characters themselves are not considered in detail. In addition, Nathalie Gillen had a conversation with an American dermatologist, who deals extensively with this topic in his freetime.
The design of the publication is consciously reduced, simple, clinical and restrained. Among the chronologically arranged still images of the villains, spread over a double page, only the film title, year of publication, actor, director and recognizable characteristics were listed. By directly confronting the characters, the viewer subjectively responds to them, rejecting them for example, or classifying them as immoral. Underpinned by the texts, it thus becomes clear how much of an influence facial features have on our judgment.