Indeception
The world does not get to define me, it can only respond to my creation of self. But who am I, really, and how much am I willing to expose once I confront my own inherent flaws, fears, and fixations? Can I forgo all the pandering and the posturing expected of women, in and beyond social media, and abstain from all those irresistible, inevitable filters?
The self-portrait, once a sacred ritual in every artist’s oeuvre, has long since been co-opted by pop culture and camera phones. Yet, while we’re so much more than a tiny icon on a glowing screen, full of unexpected strangeness and beauty, a modern life — and a viable career in the arts — includes a virtual machine fueled by an algorithm that favors the face.
In the midst of a Tom Hanks / Wilson moment, I defiantly captured a castaway photo in the bathroom of a casita that I rented for a solitary month in the desert. My first accidental portrait, “as the wilderness,” was during a period when I desperately needed to know who I was all alone, left to my own devices, suspended in a social vacuum with no one to influence and nothing to resist.
What began as snide cynicism about the vapid navel-gazing of social media humbled me time and again. The series stuck and, like those original artists, mirror time intentionally opposed vanity. I devised rules: stand straight, no posing or posturing, interrupt face with phone, add witty description to further obfuscate "the gaze."
I learned to be, to see, to study. To comply and defy as I crafted a composition that captured the spirit of the “sitter.”
The pop-up portraits became a weirdly life-affirming ritual that pushed me to explore beyond my one-dimensional-hospital-corners-existence.
I formally honored the puckish practice in 2022 when I offered my IG followers (9) portraits to choose from. From there, I selected two fan favorites to immortalize with life-size drawings crafted from fire, blades, and a bit of smoke and mirrors.
The resulting portraits are what follows…
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Me and my Instagram fans
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Charcoal on Panel
40 x 120 in (triptych)
Selfie-Portrait of the Artist Preparing for Her Close-Up
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Charcoal on Panel
40 x 120 in (triptych)
Selfie-Portrait of the Artist (February 29, 2020)
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Not Available For Sale
Photos courtesy Mutter Images
INSTALLATION VIEWS
Noteworthy
NUMBER OF SELFIE-PORTRAITS
>200
YEARS SINCE FIRST SELFIE-PORTRAIT
5
NUMBER OF PLAYS-ON-WORDS
>200
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