SELF PORTRAITS

March 16, 2021

The work here shows prints made by my body in a series of vulnerable and personal self-portraits.
The prints here are unedited real prints of the natural shapes and forms of body. I wanted to use myself to produce a female figure and show the natural rather than illustrated shape. Unlike other pieces of work the female form here isn’t perfect or proportioned, its an actual woman and has this raw and harsh quality to it. Its very powerful and loud work. I wanted to keep the colours simple to really focus on the shapes, and make the contrast all the more impactful.
I made the first print of my lower half, by painting from the lower back down and just sat carefully on the paper to reveal a relaxed and natural pose. This view of the body can’t usually be seen, which I think made for an interesting composition.
The second print was of the front of my body. I painted my entire front and lay face down onto the paper. This printed less of my body than I thought, and the end result looked almost alien like. I couldn’t really recognize this as my own body. I think this shows the idea that we all have a perception of what a female figure should look like, this is often an ‘ideal’ form influenced by beauty standards. It was eye opening to view my body in such a raw and stripped back way.
For the last print, I painted both my back and front, and began by lying face down on the paper. I then rolled over onto my back and made a moving second print. This was my favourite out of the three, I really liked the abstract form and shape produced. I also liked how it wasn't still, it felt more performative and alive, rather than just a print. I thought it rally captured my body and the way it moves and forms.