Francesca Woodman

Self-Deceit

About this artwork

With her back to the camera and her body pressed against the wall, Woodman appears to be trying to merge into the wall of the room and make herself disappear. 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.

Updated before 2020

  • artist:
    Francesca Woodman (1958 - 1981) American
  • title:
    Self-Deceit
  • date created:
    1977 - 1978
  • materials:
    Vintage gelatin silver print
  • measurements:
    8.50 x 8.80 cm (framed: 45.80 x 45.80 x 1.50 cm)
  • object type:
  • credit line:
    Purchased with Art Fund support, 2005
  • accession number:
    GMA 4772
  • gallery:
  • subject:
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Francesca Woodman

Francesca Woodman