Ajalah Tate
Francesca Woodman, "Self-Deceit #4"
Francesca Woodman, "Self-Deceit #4"
1978, gelatin silver print
"There is a face beneath this mask, but it isn't me. I'm no more that face than I am the muscles beneath it, or the bones beneath that." -Steve Moore
This photo represents the never-ending search for self. The balance between identifying what to value about your nature versus what society tells you matters most. Having her face covered by a mirror reflecting back the images that come in contact with it as if what might emerge from behind the façade is irrelevant. At the same time Woodman's body is completely exposed and vulnerable, yet never fully emerging from the background.
Simply merging, becoming just another faceless body to be scrutinized by the masses, but her mind… her mind is hers to keep her thoughts her own to cherish their value known only to the one who conjured them. Self love, that which is most important.
