‘The Art of Selling Yourself’ is a satirical art performance based on personal experience and inspired by a comment made on my Curriculum Vitae during a job interview. It utilises the visual and historical connotations of 17th and 18th-century “Raree shows” or “Peep boxes”. This is informed by my interest in illusions, theatre, and optical apparatuses, which combine to examine themes around social issues.
The ‘peep-box’ serves as a metaphor to comment on modern recruitment procedures, which are generally intrusive. Therefore, interviewees often sell themselves artificially to prospective companies. The performance is a reflection on my own limitations within the job market. Being confronted with such criticisms about my career choices allowed me to examine the parameters of my own cage.
