THE EYE DOES NOT SEE ITSELF
Window, Chris Diedericks, 2007
Linocut, editioned at Gallery 5+5, Brooklyn
Printed on Hahnemuller 260gsm 100% cotton paper
NYC, 2006
The Eye does not
See Itself
Upstairs at the AVA,
Church Street,
Cape Town,
South Africa
14 February 2007
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PRESS RELEASE
for the eye does not see itself
we yearn for another
mirror
The title for my latest body of work was born out of a dialogue between fellow artist-friend Anni Snyman, and myself. The dialogue (poetry) sparked in reaction to my process work for a solo exhibition in October 2007 at the University of Johannesburg Art gallery entitled: Indigo Boy.
I view “The eye cannot see itself”, upstairs at the AVA in February 2007, as an extension of my preparation for Indigo Boy. I believe this is the perfect time to engage in some serious introspection.
Artists have been fascinated with their own image for centuries. A self-portrait is a portrait where the artist is also the subject. Usually it is in the form of a painting, drawing, or similar graphic image; however, self-portraits occur in other media such as sculpture, photography, cinema, literature, etc.; the latter portion of this list moves more toward what would commonly be called autobiography. Sometimes artists place their own image into group portraits, such as Diego Velázquez in Las Meninas. Some artists use likeness of themselves to portray other characters: the entire œuvre of photographer Cindy Sherman is in this mode. Some artists who suffered neurological diseases left self-portraits of themselves that have allowed later physicians to analyze disruptions of mental processes; and many of these analyses have entered into the textbooks of neurology. Van Gogh made more than twenty self-portraits in only two years. Among the most prolific self-portraitists was Frida Kahlo, who depicted herself 55 times.
“The eye cannot see itself” will be an exhibition of self-portraits. I intend to work with disruption and subversion as creative tools to make the works compelling and more than mere traditional self-portraits. I intend to work much more conceptually. Most work will be intimate with just a few massive images to challenge the viewer’s perception of reality. I am also planning to make at least one artist’s book: ‘Gentle wind’ – a book printed on transparent paper with two fans which will make the pages flutter in the wind; speaking about censorship and intimacy.
The exhibition will not only concentrate on my face as self-portrait, but my entire body, where an image of a most private body parts can also become a “self-portraits”. I intend to shoot all photographs, videos and photographic references, myself.
Chris Diedericks, NYC, December 2006
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