? George and Betty Woodman
Self-Deceit #5 (Roma)
1977 - 1978
On Display Modern One
Sitting curled up and positioned with her back turned towards the camera, Woodman has also turned the mirror around so that its reverse side faces outwards. This makes the scene closed to the viewer. 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.
