James Birken is a VIP luxury stylist at Saks Fifth Avenue’s Fifth Ave Club who has worked with many influential people. As an artist, he has an aesthetic for curating fashion on the human body. Being in an industry where appearance is just about everything, Birken explores the desperation behind people's determination to stay young, youthful, and on trend. They create caricatures of their former selves and become unrecognizable to the people around them.
BELA, HELWA, MEILÌ (BEAUTIFUL, BEAUTIFUL, BEAUTIFUL) explores the surrealness of beauty and the obsession behind it. The piece touches upon how far some go to obtain beauty and perfection through the lens of a hyper-exaggerated world. Through the medium of video, he highlights a woman and her daily fixation on maintaining a youthful persona. The viewer will see a world that is hyperreal, superficial and an over-dramatized view of reality as well as the standards we hold ourselves to, as well as the impression it may have on others. How far is too far, and does it really matter?