Self-portrait
CONTEMPLATION
2018
Selected works
Poetic Surrealism
Artist statement
ON SELF-PORTRAITURE
I began photographing myself at eighteen. I had photographed other people and posed for photographers, and I wanted to see what I could make on my own. Seeing other photographers work with their own bodies gave me a way to begin.
I often go out with a duffle bag of clothes, my camera, and a tripod. I look for a place and compose the photograph before getting into it. Then I set the timer and run. I have an idea of where I want to be, but I don’t always know what I’ll do once I get there. A space that looks right through the camera might be impossible to fit into. Sometimes I can’t get the tripod where I need it, or my hands get too cold to keep working.
I’ve used the same 50mm lens for years. I shoot on manual, in colour, and convert the photographs to black and white when I edit. Colour was often distracting me from the shapes and details I wanted to look at. In some pictures, there is only a hand or a curve of my back. In others, my body takes up very little of the surrounding landscape.
I often leave my face out because an expression can determine how the whole photograph is read. I’m interested in what the rest of the body can convey without it. Working alone lets me follow that interest without having to explain what I’m trying to do while I’m doing it.
There’s something strange about looking through the photographs afterwards. I remember being there and making them, but I couldn’t see myself when the shutter opened. I spend time looking at my own body with a curiosity that can feel invasive. That feeling is part of what interests me in making self-portraits.
Other Work
Portrait, nature, and street photography
