? George and Betty Woodman
Self-Deceit #6 (Roma)
1977 - 1978
On Display Modern One
With her head hidden behind the mirror, Woodman defies the gaze of the camera. Yet though her face is hidden, the rest of her body is exposed. 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.
