I saw some photographs by Elina Brotherus exhibited recently - I think it must have been at the current monster contemporary photography round-up at the Saatchi Gallery - and felt an affinity with what she does - which is compulsive self-portraiture. She's been doing it a looOOoong time. And she uses a 5" x 4" film camera.
I think when anyone photographs themself even once - let alone a lot - it is assumed they have a rather super-massive ego the size of a black hole and just as crushing to anything that comes close to it, but that ignores a couple of fundamental insights to the process of someone like Brotherus. Firstly photographing the self is standing at the border crossing between two spaces, the personal and the public, and that's the case even if the image never sees the light of day, it's an act of exploring the individual in relation to society. Secondly, on a more practical level, there is no faffing around arranging someone to pose and having to consider their needs - food, rest, boredom, pay. You can be dehydrated, headachey, totally shattered and yet still continue on, grinding yourself into the dust without being a complete exploitative user. And you even feel quietly satisfied afterwards for having kept going.
The downsides are the technical challenging to photograph yourself, especially so when attempting to do so on location, without assistance And if you are unattractive you have to face up to seeing that fact manifested in images on a very regular basis and learn to live with it - and try to hide it a little bit better. You also worry about when the time when that aspect will be too distracting, potentially affecting the reading of the images by others in a detrimental way.
Elina Brotherus appears to have freed herself of any concern about being pretty or whatever, she depicts herself in everyday terms, so it is not about evaluating her as model material but as a person defining themself in relation to a variety of subjects. Even when she is stood alone with just a camera there is a process of investigation going on.
I think when anyone photographs themself even once - let alone a lot - it is assumed they have a rather super-massive ego the size of a black hole and just as crushing to anything that comes close to it, but that ignores a couple of fundamental insights to the process of someone like Brotherus. Firstly photographing the self is standing at the border crossing between two spaces, the personal and the public, and that's the case even if the image never sees the light of day, it's an act of exploring the individual in relation to society. Secondly, on a more practical level, there is no faffing around arranging someone to pose and having to consider their needs - food, rest, boredom, pay. You can be dehydrated, headachey, totally shattered and yet still continue on, grinding yourself into the dust without being a complete exploitative user. And you even feel quietly satisfied afterwards for having kept going.
The downsides are the technical challenging to photograph yourself, especially so when attempting to do so on location, without assistance And if you are unattractive you have to face up to seeing that fact manifested in images on a very regular basis and learn to live with it - and try to hide it a little bit better. You also worry about when the time when that aspect will be too distracting, potentially affecting the reading of the images by others in a detrimental way.
Elina Brotherus appears to have freed herself of any concern about being pretty or whatever, she depicts herself in everyday terms, so it is not about evaluating her as model material but as a person defining themself in relation to a variety of subjects. Even when she is stood alone with just a camera there is a process of investigation going on.
