Origin of the Photographic Portrait
works in progress (2016-18)
Let us remember that the camera as we know it today, would not be possible without the invention of the plate-glass mirror. In 2011-13 I focused on the French Revolution and began using mirrors in my work. The French Revolution fell upon the footsteps of the Age of Enlightenment – an age where great strides were made in the sciences as plate glass allowed humankind to see the most-minute structure of life-forms through the invention of the microscope and to perceive a vast cosmos far beyond our greatest expectations through the invention of the telescope. Our perception of ourselves in the larger scale in the universe was forever altered with the advent and explorations of plate glass. This perception was furthered still when silver was added to one side of the glass, enabling the first plate-glass mirrors to usher in a new sense of self-awareness and a perception that was rarely before known. About 50 years after the French Revolution, scientists were working to apply plate-glass to a new invention that would change their lives forever. Louis Daguerre and others worked feverishly to “fix” this image that they saw in the mirror and the camera was born.
Although mostly leaving behind the self-portrait, which has been a key theme in my past work, one of the directions this new series still focuses on are adaptations of other forms of self-awareness, its history, and its relationship to photography; therefore the mirror is particularly vital in this aspect. Removing the lens from any SLR camera will reveal a tiny mirror inside the apparatus, reminding us of the camera’s original impetus. This small series draws our attention to the mirror by highlighting its absence in these antique frames, whose shapes echoes the oval visage of the face.
Although mostly leaving behind the self-portrait, which has been a key theme in my past work, one of the directions this new series still focuses on are adaptations of other forms of self-awareness, its history, and its relationship to photography; therefore the mirror is particularly vital in this aspect. Removing the lens from any SLR camera will reveal a tiny mirror inside the apparatus, reminding us of the camera’s original impetus. This small series draws our attention to the mirror by highlighting its absence in these antique frames, whose shapes echoes the oval visage of the face.
