Kate McCalmont-Woods
700mm x 700mm
Title: Self-Reflection
Papier Mâché
170mm
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“Your
perception of me is a reflection of you”
-Bobbi
Chegwyn My ‘outside’ is not an accurate portrayal of my ‘inside’. All of us wear masks. We use them to show others what we want them to see; behind them we hide what we do not want others to know. In ‘Self-Reflection’ I am in the act of painting a portrait of me looking into a mirror. The reflection is not of my face as expected, but of my mask. It is simultaneously the reflection of the viewer. Influenced by the sense of unease created by the unexpected reflection in Magritte’s ‘Not to be Reproduced’*; Knight’s ‘Laura Knight with model Ella Louise’ and Manet’s ‘Bar at the Folies-Bergere’, I use the painted mirror, which logically cannot reflect anything, to reflect what is behind me, including the viewer who is symbolised by the dark figure; what was outside of the painting is now inside. The physical act of making the Mask was intrinsic to the painting. Through making pieces which resonate with me on a personal level, I have expressed in paint and papier mâché what I have not yet communicated with words. |
“The encouragement of experimentation without fear of failure has been invaluable and has allowed me greater creativity...the keeping of a sketchbook is inegral to this...however the most important thing which I will take forward with me is always to ask myself, ‘What if...?’”