Condition

Gemma Leary is an innovative still-life photographer whose practice focuses on the visual and cultural structures embedded within everyday objects. Her recent project “Condition” explores the relationship between perfectionism and the beauty industry through a studio-based photographic series. Drawing from personal experience, she uses cosmetic products as symbolic objects to examine the pressure to maintain flawlessness. Traditional beauty campaigns present products as pristine and untouched, reinforcing ideals that feel both aspirational yet unattainable. In contrast, her work focuses on these items after repeated use: a flattened lipstick, a bent mascara wand, an over-squeezed tube. She emphasises the physical traces left behind, pressure and gradual destruction. These altered forms become evidence of a pursuit of perfection that is ultimately out of reach. By shifting the focus to damaged objects, Gemma challenges the dominant visual narratives within the beauty industry to invite a more honest reflection on imperfections.