Laurence D Antonio Lignel

Faux semblants: How a glimpse at human interaction could be interpreted in very different and contradic-tory ways.
Observing a man and a woman holding each other, without any knowledge of the con-text generally and logically leads to the obvious : categorizing them as friends, lovers, relatives,..
But look again, change your angle and you could interpret the opposite or find darker, meaner feelings.
What looks like a tender embrace could actually be more threatening and non mutual. What we decode as affection marks could be domination traits. Are they really dancing or fighting. Is it innocent spooning or holding forcefully. Her or his closed eyes are they proofs of plenitude or closed for a purpose of not show-ing, not telling. The hand on her shoulder could be a threat in disguise. Is it a caress or a warning. Is it serenity or distress that can be read on her face. Abuse is rarely diagnosed early and we can be a victim of it, witness it without identify-ing it. What we picture as evidence of love is not always a proof of it. Displays of physical affection might be pretense. Even declaration of love can be de-ceiving and the words detoured from their meanings, used as tools. To lose one ‘s heart to someone, to belong to someone don’t mean losing or surrendering to someone. The desire to belong might be reel but not be literal.
But they might also be lovers, lost in a beautiful embrace, feeling fulfilled. experiencing the uniqueness luck of sharing feelings with someone. I guess that is what “Faux sem-blants” (false pretenses) are about.