The 'Self' & The 'Other'
This series of self-portraits, is an exploration of the ‘Self’ through the lens of ancient Roman portraiture – The ‘Other’ referring to the ways in which identities are formed.
This period was significant for portraiture, with the beginning of abstract and hybrid forms, new value systems creating a new self-image within the Roman classes while looking at others to understand the construction and representation of our own self.
By combining traditional 5″x4″ analogue paper negatives of my self with hybrid digital negatives of ancient Roman portraits and fragments, I’m re-imagining the historical self-portrait, in a similar vein to how the Romans re-imagined (Hellenistic) Greek art for their own purposes.
Picasso and De Chirico looked to Roman and Greek art and many classical ideas as a way of understanding the uncertainties of their contemporary world. Today, it’s a way for me to understand human psychology and the construction of the ‘Self’ in self-portraiture.
Below are the digital images, the final images are photographic frescoe’s set in plaster.
