PEEP SHOW SERIES

When we peep through a keyhole, we are aware that we should not; everything we see is private and therefore more titillating. Peep Show; the words themselves conjure images of seedy back rooms where sexual contact is limited to a one-way viewing.

Peep Show boxes date back as far as 500 years ago, designed by artists and scientists to portray all manner of subjects. In the 18th and 19th Centuries peep show viewing was a popular and innocent form of street entertainment, developing into toy theaters. Using lenses and mirrors, an interior world could be created by peering into the mysterious box. The term Peep Show ultimately came be to most closely associated with viewing pornographic films and live sex shows.

In this series, Feit Covey combines the secret and prurient world summoned by the modern connotation of the term “Peep Show”, with the innocent world of Victorian-era peep show boxes. The engravings are suggestive rather than overtly sexual. However, by simply placing the print inside a box, the viewer is forced into the role of voyeur, having to bend – almost awkwardly – in order to glimpse the images through an actual keyhole.

The boxes themselves are custom designed and hand-crafted by a master cabinet maker. They are modeled on elegant peep show boxes circa 1820 and available in both Cherry and Walnut. Each box has unique Victorian style hardware and storage space for ten prints.

01–07
Custom made peep show box with 10 wood engravings, printed on Japanese hand made paper.
Prints 3x2 inches each

Fifteen boxes were created as a limited edition