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This self-portrait explores identity through layering and concealment. By combining the image of myself hiding behind my hands with a sky overlay, I wanted to disrupt the idea of a “truthful” portrait. Instead of showing my face directly, I’ve obscured and fragmented it, suggesting vulnerability, self-protection, and the idea that we often shield parts of ourselves from being fully seen. (imposter syndrome)

The use of double exposure creates a surreal, dreamlike quality. The clouds suggest impermanence, thought, or even the unconscious, linking the portrait to states of mind as much as physical appearance. This pushes against the stereotype of the selfie, which often aims for clarity, perfection, and control. Here, the ambiguity becomes the point: it leaves space for interpretation, inviting the viewer to question what lies hidden and what is revealed.

Stylistically, this opens up a possible direction for the whole project:

Double Exposure / Overlay: Blending my image with symbolic textures (clouds, water, stone, light) to explore different aspects of identity.

Obscured Portraits: Using hands, hair, fabric, or shadows to partially conceal the self, playing with visibility and invisibility.

Conceptual Self-Portraiture: Shifting away from likeness and moving towards metaphor, using the body as a canvas for ideas rather than just recognition.

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Research Document: Vivian Maier (1926–2009)

Vivian Maier has become one of the most fascinating figures in the history of photography, not only for the quality of her work but also for the mystery that surrounds her life and practice. Born in New York in 1926 to a French mother and Austrian father, she spent parts of her childhood in both the United States and France. For most of her adult life she worked as a nanny and governess, primarily in Chicago, yet she carried her Rolleiflex camera everywhere she went. At the time of her death in 2009 she was almost entirely unknown in the art world. Only when storage lockers containing thousands of her negatives were auctioned off did her work come to light, leading to her posthumous recognition as one of the great street photographers of the twentieth century.

Although Maier is usually celebrated for her candid street photography, her self-portraits are among the most revealing aspects of her practice. These images demonstrate her ability to weave herself into the everyday environment while maintaining a sense of distance and mystery. Unlike conventional self-portraits that present the face directly, Maier often used mirrors, shadows, and reflections as her means of including herself in the frame. This creates a subtle tension between presence and absence: she is undeniably there, yet hidden, distorted, or abstracted. In this way, her work takes on a more conceptual approach to identity, one that resists easy categorisation or self-promotion.

One striking example is Self-Portrait, New York, 1955, where Maier photographs her reflection in a shop window. The glass surface merges her image with the bustling street, passersby, and objects inside the shop, turning her face into just one fragment of a layered urban composition. Another notable work is Self-Portrait, 1954, in which her reflection appears warped in the curve of a car hubcap; a playful distortion that denies any fixed or authoritative self-image. She also frequently photographed her elongated shadow cast across pavements or walls. These shadow works reduce her presence to a silhouette, acknowledging her existence while simultaneously abstracting her into something transient and impersonal.

What is striking about Maier’s self-portraits is how closely they mirror aspects of her personal life. As a nanny, she lived within other people’s households, simultaneously present and peripheral, both caretaker and outsider. Her photographs seem to echo this condition for example she appears as a reflection in someone else’s mirror, a shadow cast across someone else’s space, or a figure fleetingly captured in glass. The self-portraits can therefore be read not only as exercises in composition but also as subtle meditations on invisibility, social marginality, and the quiet labour of women in mid-century America.

For contemporary photographers, Maier’s work is highly instructive. She demonstrates that a self-portrait does not need to rely on a direct depiction of the face or body. Instead, identity can be approached symbolically and indirectly through shadows, reflections, and environments. This resonates strongly with my own exploration of concealment and layering. Just as Maier found ways to embed herself into her surroundings without full disclosure, I am experimenting with obscuring my face behind my hands and layering textures such as clouds. Both approaches challenge the idea that a portrait must reveal a stable truth about the sitter, suggesting instead that identity is partial, fragmented, and always in negotiation.

References

Bannos, P. (2017). Vivian Maier: A Photographer’s Life and Afterlife. University of Chicago Press.

Maloof, J. (2014). Vivian Maier: Street Photographer. PowerHouse Books.

Mulligan, T., & Wooters, M. (2017). Vivian Maier: Self-Portraits. PowerHouse Books.

Prose, F. (2014). “The Story of Vivian Maier.” The New York Review of Books.

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Part of my Self-Portrait project is to think outside the box to avoid the usual, comfortable, stereotypical selfie. Society and social media have conditioned us to believe that’s what we want, because in a selfie we control the image: we can manipulate the truth, nip and tuck, blur the freckles and blemishes. With the stereotypical selfie, we control the angles, the classic shot from above, pointing down at the face. I’m guilty of this too. But my next images will be conceptual, evocative, and possibly mind-boggling in a surreal sense.

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Part of my self-portrait project involves rethinking what a portrait can be. Rather than always showing the full face or body, What about exploring fragments of myself as representations of identity. One example is my iris. The eye is often called the “window to the soul,” and by isolating and enlarging my iris, creating a portrait that is both deeply personal and strangely anonymous. It’s me, but it’s also abstract; like a universe, a fingerprint, or a planet.

This approach challenges the conventions of the selfie, where the whole face is often polished and presented for validation. Instead, by zooming in so close, flaws disappear, and what remains is pure detail, texture, and colour. It becomes less about vanity and more about essence.

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Week 1 Task: Self-Portrait

Deadline: Monday 8th September
Submission: Class Padlet + Canvas

Requirements

1. Create an online Blog

This will be my ongoing research & development blog for the module

Instagram and padlet

Upload research, notes, experiments weekly.

2. 1 x Self-Portrait

Any medium: photo, video still, collage, manipulated image, experimental technique.

Must be created by myself not just a selfie snap

Post it to Padlet + upload to Canvas.

3. Written Rationale (50–100 words)

Short text explaining my self-portrait.

Include concept (why I chose this approach) and process (how I made it).

Inspiration

The module gave examples to think about:

Ansel Adams (1933) traditional, dignified photographic self-portrait.

Susan Meiselas (1971) casual, intimate, almost snapshot-like.

Zanele Muholi (2019) bold, identity-driven portraiture.

Claude Cahun (1930) surreal, performative, and gender-challenging.

Frida Kahlo (1938) symbolic self-portrait with animals and props.

Alec Soth (2010, “Unselfie”) avoids the literal face, focusing on absence/identity.

Robert Cornelius (1839) the first photographic “selfie”!

To-Do Before Deadline

Pick a concept (traditional vs experimental, face vs symbolic).

Shoot my self-portrait (camera, tripod, phone, or creative technique).

Do any necessary edits (Lightroom/Photoshop or even analogue manipulations).

Upload to Padlet + add 50–100 word rationale.

Upload same image to Canvas.

Set up your blog upload first post (self-portrait + rationale + research).