one thing i noticed by doing this whitewash to the uniform is that i'm creating something that is the complete opposite of all those army adverts, like this one. in this ad, the soldier's face is camouflaged, like he's one with the uniform. the camouflage itself is made up of the faces of different men, and the soldier's face is racially ambiguous. a young man is meant to look at that ad and think "that could be me." it is as if the uniform will lets the identity blend in.
my work is the exact opposite of this. there's nothing ambiguous about who this person is, his face is clearly seen, his race, his age group. what is ambiguous is what he is wearing. details of a uniform can be seen, but without looking close it could really be any outfit. there is no camouflage here, in fact the white seems to jump out of the page, begging for attention.
