“In Alienatus Extraneus, Gratten Perea conjures a dreamlike narrative centered on a masked stranger who wanders the urban environment in a state of alienated isolation. Significantly, the protagonist—played by the artist himself—did not actually occupy these spaces; rather, Perea meticulously staged his self-portraits in the studio and digitally inserted them into shots he had taken on the streets of New York. Though nearly seamless, these interventions lend his photographs an uncanny effect that, together with the unexplained full-face mask, accentuates a pervasive sense of ambiguity and estrangement. When, in the final image, Perea sheds his disguise and wades into the sea, it is unclear whether he has liberated or doomed himself—or both.”

Nat Trotman - Curator, 2023 MFA Photo, Video & Related Media Thesis Show