Self Still Life | 2019

Self still life displayed as an intimated cluster, the images act as a sequence of mirrors whose details represent a reflection on identity and the depiction of the self.

 “Identity” is never defined once and for all. However, artists have long been investigating its nature beyond any cultural or geographic classifications for which it is sometimes easy to fall into. For instance, ‘Where are you from?’ is often the question being used to reply to ‘Who are you?’, resulting in a multilayered set of questions with no precise answers on identity.

As a still-life is an art genre that depicts inanimate commonplace objects that are either natural (food, flowers, plants, rocks, shells, etc.) or man-made (drinking glasses, books, vases, jewelry, and so forth), my photo series Self still life explores the transient aspect of human life meant as a "memento mori."

My B/W self-portraits have been treated as a collage. Objects, fruits, home laces, or even some powder have been incorporated overlapping the human silhouettes or details of them, whether it be an eye, lips, or a hand. The accumulation of inanimate objects along with the human depiction works as a collection that reminds us of the surrounding world that makes us the beings we are. In this sense, photography and the digital represent both the medium and the object to analyze. They both function as a mirror.