The Challenge - ‘exploration of identity’
- Dressing yourself up to explore your different selves eg. parent, child, sibling, work colleague, student, artist, gender, etc. You could also explore your beliefs - political, religious, etc. Minority groups that you identify with - sexual orientation, race issues etc. Or issues that are going on in your life right now - marital problems, self doubt issues, etc. Or look at wider world issues such as poverty, war etc.
This challenge can be as fun or as serious as you want to make it. Maybe you can use each week to explore something different that you feel strongly about, or to explore a different aspect of yourself.
Inspiration:
- A self portait tuesday blogger, last week began on this exploration with the simple use of wigs and glasses - she had a lot of fun while looking at her different selves.
- Have a look at Cindy Sherman’s works - a quote from her website states that she “uses herself as a vehicle for commentary on a variety of issues of the modern world: the role of the woman, the role of the artist and many more.” Some of Cindy Sherman’s images that should get you thinking. From her early Untitled film still series, where she explored the different roles of women in our society - #35, #6
- Robert Mappelthorpe’s self portaits - dresses up and down, uses props and makeup in order to look at his different selves.
- I did a pregnant housewife series a while back - inpired by Cindy Sherman
How to do it:
1. think about what you want to say/express
2. think about how this might be portrayed - do you need elaborate costuming or can you say with mood lighting and a change of expression?
3. gather props, costumes, makeup - a simple prop could be enough to make a statement - such as a broom and a head scarfe -, or a toy gun and shoe polish smeared on your face, or perhaps nothing more than a woeful expression and messy hair will say all you need.
4. decide on location, lighting needs (eg. daylight, or lamplight will give a different mood - try putting a coloured cloth over the window or lamp to change the colour - and thus mood of the moment. The room or space you choose will also make a difference to the image - what does using the bedroom with ruffled bedsheets say, compared to a pristine dining table - or a harried shopping excursion?)
5. make 10 minutes somewhere somehow within the week to loosen up and face what is important to you. You never know you might make a difference.
