Untitled (Sleep) by Jaime Permuth

Jaime Permuth ventures into challenging territories of contemporary art practice with his series, The Completely Visible World. Permuth casts a nude couple into a grimy service core, magnifying their apparent vulnerability with the kind of lighting and metallic effects seen in high-end print ad campaigns and German car brochures. Upon scrutiny, they are behind a window, wherein light-studded trees are seen in reflection.

Of this body of work, the Guatemala-born, New York-based Permuth says:

In our twenty-first century, an endlessly sharp and unforgiving spotlight is cast on the body, which once captured is then processed and altered by digital technologies to please the greatest number of consumers. Humanity is redefined as the vast array of spectators which decides how all should look and move through space.

Seen through portals and windows throughout The Completely Visible World, this modern Adam and Eve are subject first to the photographer's staging and manipulation, then our gaze, and ultimately, a commercial context. It's unclear whether even having each other in this harsh environment will suffice, which is an allegory we all might want to ponder.