FRANCESCA WOODMAN
2016-11-28Francesca Woodman was an American photographer known for her large and singular oeuvre. Her photography exhibits many influences, ranging from symbolism to surrealism to fashion photography and to a great extent explores issues of gender and self. Using herself as the prime subject of her photographs these are not self-portraits in a conventional sense but rather dialogues with the self and an exploration of representation of the body in relation to its surroundings. On her frequent use of herself as a model, she observed “It’s a matter of convenience — I’m always available.”
The exhibition takes the artist’s first work Self-portrait at 13 (1971) as starting point. In this photograph Woodman is using what can best be described as a homemade “selfie-stick” and the resulting image is partially blurred and her face obscured by her own hair. This seminal work points to what will become Woodman’s interest in how people relate to space and how that relationship can be played out in two-dimensional images.
Opposite – Self-portrait at 13, Antella, Italy, 1972
Exhibition runs through to December 18th, 2016
Andréhn-Schiptjenko
Hudiksvallsgatan 8
Stockholm
Sweden
