Melissa Mercier: Dextrophobia – Fear of things to the right side of the body

November 28, 2011 by  
Filed under Experience

A music box should represent comfort, security, hope and dreams, but if you suffer from dextrophobia and it’s placed on the right side of your body even this innocent children’s toy becomes unbearable. People who suffer from this phobia fear anything placed on their right side. Odd, but true. I find this phobia very unusual. [...]

Melissa and the self portrait #19: Scolionophobia; The fear of school.

July 28, 2011 by  
Filed under Experience

Remember your first day of school? That day is filled with excitement, fear, change, bravery and the crossing of a threshold. I am a bilingual Canadian, but I grew up speaking only french in the province of Quebec. This self portrait reminds me of the courage that it took to leave my small home town [...]

Melissa and the self portrait #18:Looking into a mirror

July 19, 2011 by  
Filed under Experience

Looking into a mirror is like peering into the eyes of God. There are no lies, no places to hide from the truth that comes from within. I imagine the fear of looking into a mirror is really the fear of facing one’s self. I played with these ideas in this self portrait, keeping the [...]

Melissa and the self portrait #15 –Clinophobia

June 27, 2011 by  
Filed under Experience

One of those hot summer nights; too sweaty to sleep under the sheets, yet the silky cotton is too soft to resist. This image explores Clinophobia, the fear of going to bed incorporating the feeling of spying or being spied upon depending on the viewer’s perspective. For this image, I used: Hasselblad body Phase One [...]