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Jean Albus
Most self-portraiture shows the photographer’s face. The very best self-portraits, however, show what’s behind the face. Sometimes that can only be done through metaphor, by using a material form to represent an abstract quality.
Here we see the cornerstones of self-defense: concealment and strength. She is enshrouded, hidden away behind a veil. Yet by looking directly at the camera, she admits she is revealing herself. She has wrapped herself in a pair of strong arms. Yet it’s clear her physical strength offers no more security than the wispy mantle in which she’s clad.
Hidden, but not concealed. Strong, but vulnerable. This may seem like a node of contradiction; it is, in fact, courageous and honest. This is self-portraiture through mythopoesis. It is an attempt to understand oneself by exploring the mythic aspects of all humankind. And when we look back at that face, we see our strength, our vulnerability, our efforts to hide, our nakedness. When we look behind the photographer’s face, we see our own.
Blog photograph copyrighted to the photographer and used with permission by utata.org. All photographs used on utata.org are stored on flickr.com and are obtained via the flickr API. Text is copyrighted to the author, greg fallis and is used with permission by utata.org. Please see Show and Share Your Work
