© George and Betty Woodman
Self-Deceit #1 (Roma)
1977 - 1978
On Display Modern One
Peering around the corner of the mirror, the artist regards her own image with curiosity. This is the only photograph from the set owned by the Modern One in which we can see the artist’s face. The image is from a series of photographs called ‘Self Deceit,’ which Woodman took while studying in Rome. Alone and naked, Woodman appears vulnerable as she undertakes a personal self-exploration, underlined by the small and intimate format of the photographs. The photographs are not self-portraits in the conventional sense, as the photographs explore the possibilities of representation instead of revealing the artist’s identity. In the photographs she uses a mirror as a prop – it becomes a symbol of artistic self-reflexivity, reflecting the ‘eye’ of the camera back upon itself.
