21 Female Artists Reflect on the Origins of Self-Portraiture

Using photography, collage, tapestry, and video, Erin M. Riley, Leah Schrager, Alexa Meade, and more reveal the meanings of self-representation today.

by Masha (Maria) Koblyakova

October 4, 2016, 4:00pm

Marie Tomanova, "Self-portrait #24." Images courtesy the artists and The Untitled Space

While some galleries celebrate the nesting of Instagram within culture with selfie exhibitions, like the K+ Instgrm Exhibition in Singapore, other art spaces, like The Untitled Space, with new exhibition, Self-Reflection, fiercely rebel against this fad.

Opened last Tuesday, this all-female exhibition reveals the authenticity at the core of self-representation through an expressive dialogue on modern femininity. “It is important to look at the origins of self=portraiture, especially today with the incredible selfie addiction. In Self-Reflection, artists create work not to promote themselves but to present and talk about subjects that are important for women nowadays,” shares Indira Cesarine, one of the exhibition curators (with Coco Dolle), with The Creators Project.

Leah Schrager, Selfie Examination

In addition to co-curating, Cesarine presents her own work in the exhibition and explains that it is as an opportunity “to create a platform for female artists and to be a part of dialogue at the same time.” The exhibition involves 21 female artists and features living paintings by Alexa Meade, self-portraits featuring the alter-egos of Andrea Mary Marshall, and the embroidered sext tapestries of Erin M. Riley. The artists employ self-representational imagery as an instrument for reflection, rather than simply critiquing selfie culture. Particularly, the exhibition draws attention to the classical conceptual theme of the artist-as-art, adding a millennial spin to it while preserving original feminist undertones. Open a window into Self-Reflection through the images below: