Lipstick Traces
Illustration by Mia Dong
The calendar you mark, the bar of soap you lather, the lipstick you apply. From routine rituals to minuscule habits, we shape our lived environments with intention and inadvertence. The objects we own become artifacts, a reflection of our learned experiences. Stacy Greene took this notion and ran with it to create her notable collection titled Lipstick. Released in 1992, Lipstick is a photography series of 28 used lipsticks, each more unique than the last. Every photo is a close-up image of a different woman’s lipstick accompanied by a caption of its owner’s name. The series is meant to capture how women put their lipstick on differently while recording the personal sculpture every individual has unconsciously formed.
Stacy Greene’s inspiration for the series came from a museum date with a friend at the Whitney Museum of American Art. As her companion, Rosie, pulled out her lipstick, it fell to the ground, so Stacy picked it up and unscrewed the tube for her. While doing so, Greene noticed the unusual shape Rosie had moulded out of her deep-red cosmetic, igniting a fascination that resulted in Lipstick being brought to life. This lipstick of Rosie’s is featured in the official series alongside the other carefully curated makeup.
Lipstick creates a space to reflect on our daily rituals often performed without much thought. As capitalist consumers, feeling individual and noticing our distinctive habits can become difficult. As the search for originality becomes a sour, sought-after craving, it may feel like a losing battle in the face of mass production. Collective consumption blurs apparent separation from others and blends us into the crowd. The products that people consume may often be the same, but how the item interacts with them depends on the user’s manipulation. Lipstick draws attention to this, encouraging us to look more closely at how we can shape our everyday environment and objects. Despite being applied with generally the same procedures, an altogether different physique adorns each lipstick. The alteration of everyday, factory-made products into surreal, individualised objects mirrors the personal imprints we leave behind. Via the owners' unique habits and intimate patterns, a personalised connection to the body morphs the lip lacquer’s outline over time.
The lipsticks in every one of the 28 photographs are unlike each other in terms of shape, size, colour, and brand. Their marks made by lip wrinkles are etched, and their indentations from pucker positioning defined. Greene took photographs of the lipsticks as they were given to her. No clean-up or beautification was conducted before shooting them, they were captured in their standard state. We can see a classic lipstick silhouette in Stacy’s idyllic, perfectly shaped pink, and signs of a beloved commodity in Amy’s well-used, concaved ruby-red. The ornate figures are evident in Ellen’s corkscrew formation, the contemporary art-like statue Wendy transfigured, and the pointed profile sharpened by Jerelyn. Some of the photographs have been met with public judgment, such as Victoria’s warm brown lipstick which looks slightly like it has been chewed on, but that’s her prerogative.
Greene captured these women’s lipsticks through a real lens, with dust, hairs, blemishes, bruises, layers of other lipstick colours and all. This series is a confession to behavioural nonconformity on the smallest scale; an admission by utilizing a common commodity unlike its stereotypical picture-perfect presentation. Lipstick portrays Greene’s deeper appreciation for the small but meaningful personal daily details. There is artistry in the everyday, which you unknowingly contribute to, and it can be seen simply through the practised art of lipstick application.
Stacey Greene’s full collection of ‘Lipstick’ can be found here: https://stacygreene.com/projects/lipstick/