Showing posts with label self portrait. Show all posts
Showing posts with label self portrait. Show all posts

Monday, 15 April 2013

Spleen and bile

Looking back to my first post I notice I was full of hope that writing this blog would reignite my passion for photography and give me a new purpose in my image-making.  How wrong can you be! Spring is traditionally the time for stock-taking and looking forward with renewed enthusiasm.  What went wrong?

Perhaps it is the longest, coldest winter in living memory from which we are only just now emerging. Despite the welcome sunshine, the landscape still looks dreary and uninviting and the garden is still wearing its winter widow's weeds. Perhaps it is the bout of flu which laid me low over Easter and has wrung every last drop of enthusiasm for life out of me, leaving me feeling lethargic and apathetic. Perhaps it is just a feeling of irritation with the world in general, and the art world in particular - the endless babble of social media, self-promoting egos and barrage of stupid opinions are enough to drive anyone mad.  As if any of it really mattered....

These self-portraits using inanimate objects around the house express my current state of mind and give physical form to my bile. However, before you call the therapist, please be aware that they are the first photographs I have taken for some time so the very fact that I picked my camera up today must mean that I am on the road to recovery!

 Self-portrait as vegetable peelings

 Self-portrait as used tea bag

Self portrait as limp dishrag

 Self-portrait as roast dinner leftovers

 Self portrait as used toilet roll

Self portrait as grubby dressing gown

Sometimes it does you good to get rid of your spleen - I feel better already! (No vegetables were harmed in the making of these photographs)

Monday, 10 December 2012

Six of the best ......still life

Continuing my six of the best series - a selection of my photographs from the year.

RenĂ© Descartes' famous statement about human consciousness was the inspiration for these tongue-in cheek self-portraits, which despite their apparent humour, have an underlying serious intention. I have chosen to present myself to the world in disguise in order to reveal certain aspects of my character which I normally prefer to keep concealed, possibly even from myself. Our personalities are made up of many different traits which are often contradictory and changeable. Is it possible to know the nature of the true self? Does this self bear any relationship to the personality we project to others? Or do we exist in a permanent state of self-deception and lack of awareness. I think, therefore I am - but what am I?








The study of phrenology gained great popularity in Victorian times - the shape of the skull was said to denote particular character traits and different areas of the skull were believed to correspond to various psychological aptitudes and tendencies. More from the series here