Paul Taylor

#selfiesuit is a project in which I reverse the polarity of the typical selfie by wearing a mirrored suit.  If you take my photo in the suit, you are taking a selfie.  If I take a selfie, I am taking a photo of you.

If something occurs in your life and it isn't documented, posted to social media, and liked, did it really happen?

Look for the hashtag #selfiesuit on social media, and follow @selfiesuit for more information.

I began this series of drawings during a fellowship at the Marin Headlands Center for the Arts. Exploring the impermanence of built structures in the landscape, these drawings on paper consist of geometric or architectural forms in white conte crayon covered with layers of sumi ink.

A large debt of thanks goes to Jonathan Bloom who beautifully photographed these drawings (except “Two Bunkers, Tunnel”).

cast concrete, powder coated steel

Anonymous Infrastructure

Firebox is inspired by the many fire alarm boxes that dot the corners of San Francisco. Pre-dating telephone technology, these boxes were hardwired to the nearest fire station via telegraph. The video is an excerpt--the full-length video is 16 1/2 minutes.

Site specific installation at Oakwilde Ranch and Sculpture, Valley Springs, CA.

painted redwood, concrete, oak trees

16' wide x 16' deep x 6' high

The Disappearing Suit is an offshoot of the #selfiesuit. When I wear the mirrored suit in natural, isolated environments it begins to dematerialize. I first noticed this phenomenon when shooting the video “#selfiesuit_departure.” I am in the process of expanding this project further through photo and video-based works.

Anonymous Infrastructure

cast concrete, steel, paint, canned food, can opener, dirt, grass

14" diameter, 12" deep

See for yourself: 38.5382, -121.7494

The Digital Trust Hike was a performance in which I tried to replace all of my senses with apps on my smartphone. I walked the length of Taylor Street in San Francisco from Market Street to the Embarcadero. I navigated by following the blue dot on google maps, recorded various data using a GPS tracking app, and live-tweeted my progress, while never looking up from my phone. I had friends stationed at every intersection (29 in total). When they saw me coming, they called me and talked me safely across the street.

This video was shot in 2 locations--Battery Commander's Stations at batteries Rathbone and McIndoe in the Marin Headlands, CA. I placed my tripod at the spot where the range-finding telescopes in both stations used to rest, and shot footage with a slowly rotating camera. Since the interiors of the two stations are nearly identical, and both encompass roughly the same view, I was able to splice together the footage shot at both stations in 2 places, creating an endless loop of reflexive surveillance as the vantage bounces back and forth from one station to the other.

Anonymous Infrastructure

plywood, steel, paint, hardware, water

24" wide x 40" high x 29" deep

Anonymous Infrastructure

wood, steel, paint, reflective tape, light, concrete, dirt

gate: 125" W x 42" H x 19" D
vacant lot: 500' W x 900' D

I shot the footage for Random Descent in a four-level parking garage, and split the footage into 8 different sections comprising a half-level each. I stitched the segments together in a sequence whose order I determined randomly. The audio is composed of ambient mechanical noises.

The Next Sequel is an online archive of handwriting samples:

link to archive

It is important to me to preserve the written word before digital forms of communication render it completely obsolete.  The phrase "the next sequel" is something I discovered when I was going through some boxes of old papers.  It was in my grade school handwriting, but I have no recollection of its origin. 

If you would like to submit a sample for the archive please get in touch via the "contact" section of my website.

Special thanks to Tyler Schmidt for building the online archive.

Anonymous Infrastructure

steel, cast iron, paint, hardware, concrete, dirt, saguaro cactus

69" wide x 51" high x 11" deep

Anonymous Infrastructure

wood, steel, paint, hardware

24" wide x 43" high x 32" deep

This piece was placed at the site of a demolished church in the Nob Hill neighborhood of San Francisco.