We, the Self

Engaging in self-portraiture calls for a permanent state of awareness and curiosity about the possibility of "narcissistic indulgence lurking in the shadows"1. It is a complex business, the era of selfies being one of fragmentation, misunderstandings, and the quest for external validation. But the artistic interest in this kind of practice often comes from the search for one's ego, the essence of their soul, or the revelation of their multiple personas. It can be an exploratory endeavour as if from an auto-ethnographic perspective, and it can also come from the temptation to get rid of who one currently is to become something new.

In self-portraiture, the self who sees crosses with the self who is seen, creating a third entity that defies classic distinctions between representation and performativity. This hybrid being queers the notion of self and other, blurring boundaries between subject and object, observer and observed. "To be a one at all, you must be a many and it's not a metaphor," says Haraway. Materializing a relational understanding of self, queer self-portraiture allows for the multiplicity within an individual to reverberate in their surroundings. Community, collectivity, partnership and shared spaces are all part of queer existence.

If, like Nietzsche, we believe that the truth is ugly and we have art not to perish from it – then which speculative images can queer self-portraits create? Abdicating the idea of purity both in fantasy and in reality, these artists unveil versions of their potential selves through photography and video. Here, the medium is precisely that: an intermediate of false separation between one and several. Sharing traces of their authored existences, these artists generously help us find ourselves with the guidance of their works. 

1Reed-Danahay, D. (2017) Bourdieu and Critical Autoethnography: Implications for research, writing and teaching. International Journal of Multicultural Education19(1): 144–154.