MARRIED MAN by Natasha Caruana

MARRIED MAN by Natasha Caruana

A photobook by London-based photographer Natasha Caruana. Between 2008 and 2009, the artist went on 80 dates with married men. Each time, she took one or two photos with a disposable camera. The photos capture remnants of meals at cafes, dirty coffee cups, and bento box lids, far removed from the glamorous and exciting connotations of affairs. Prompted by finding a dating site for affairs, the artist became interested in the impact of the internet on modern relationships. Over 18 months, she dated over 50 married men, sometimes going on three or four dates a day. The men featured in this book are shadowy silhouettes disappearing beyond doorways, the sleeve of a torn jacket, or the knee of a suit visible beyond a wine cooler. Countless hands, spanning a wide range of ages, are captured signing receipts, holding wet umbrellas, dangling keys, restlessly fiddling with cutlery, and gently holding the artist's hand. Though she began this project as a form of catharsis, it gradually evolved into a performance. The men deceived their wives by going on dates, and their lies resonated with Caruana's fiction. Each time the men immersed themselves in the persona of an adulterer, Caruana played a character to assist their fantasy, and the table between them became a stage. What surprised her was how often the men talked at length about their wives. About their loneliness, and how they felt like spare parts in their families. Ultimately, all these men wanted was a sympathetic ear.