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‘How To’: Hilarious Photo Series Mocks Instruction Manuals

By Ellyn Kail on June 8, 2015

How to Brush Your Teeth

How to Apply Lipstick

How To was born two years ago out New York-based photographer Olivia Locher’s own series of kitchen mishaps and blunders. After misunderstanding hastily repeated recipes given to her by friends and acquaintances, she chose to forgo frustration and disappointment in favor of inspiration, constructing a set of images in which routine exercises are confused, mistaken, or exaggerated to the point where they become nonsensical.

How To’s particular brand of satire relies on the restraint and subtly of Locher’s wit. This isn’t a photo series about tragic errors made by buffoons but about tiny miscalculations that result in everything rituals turning out only marginally awry. Although they are outlandish and fantastical, Locher’s scenarios point to something honest and undeniable about the awkwardness of being human. It’s a project that draws from daily life, and in turn, it makes daily life a little more forgiving. Ultimately, says Locher, How To has helped her “to take life less seriously and really rejoice in miscommunication.”

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