Anna Carey: Madam Mystery

Madam Mystery is a series of photographs based on fictional psychic shop fronts by artist Anna Carey. This series was created during the height of the pandemic and continues Carey’s process of constructing fictional miniature models and photographing them. The camera lens magnifies the model with all its imperfections and reminds the viewer that the photograph has been constructed with a miniature materialized object which creates an imaginary space for the viewer. By conflating multiple realities and imagination into one space, the artist creates a blurred everyday experience like the way we drift into daydreams within the more mundane everyday experiences. 

The idea of escapism is heightened by inserting her own real life phone number into the seductive new age neon signage. This invites viewers to escape into a fantasy world and creates a sense of play and connection in times of physical separation. In unprecedented times with a shifting collective conscious and existential concern these works remind us that the future is unknown and looks at the ways that people try to make sense of chaos, reality and things unseen. The celestial yet terrestrial works offer a place where reality and the imagination can co-exist and create psychic balance.