Both a documentary analysis and a conceptual deliberation, this is a visually exciting criticism of the social impact of idolisation and capricious desires. Who are these people we admire so much, what role do they play in our lives, and what absurdities do they evoke from us?

Working on the wax models at Madame Tussauds of supposedly aspirational figures, Kenji Hirasawa presents us with social relationships both separated and intensified by these lifeless effigies, ingeniously creating metaphors of themselves, existential intimations to which we can never actually be close.

The pictures are taken with a thermographic camera, recording heat emitted from visitors' bodies, where the lifeless models are barely seen: each pixel records specific temperature information. As one moves through the pages various emotions and interactions take place — humour, aggression, playfulness, regret and reverie.

“The pictures are a perfect and very simple metaphor for our relationship to the famous: real people attempting to interact with dreams. To say that the cult of fame is the worship of empty people is obvious, but to show it is brilliant.” — Erik Kessels