“As a conscious act, we document our inner and outer selves, meticulously curating the facets of our existence, both the painful and the triumphant, that we wish to leave behind in the world. And from these archives we hope that others can learn – to look inside themselves, to reconsider their stereotypes of those around them, to remind ourselves of the brevity of youth, beauty and life itself, to challenge previous modes of perceptions of reality, and to question where in fact our very identity lies and how it is constructed. And, like reality, there is no sole explanation for why artists create self-portraiture; there are many truths. With the camera we hold a mirror up to the world in the hopes that each viewer will, as Aristotle says “Know Thyself”.
Did you know that drowning people can’t shout for help? I know this from painful experience. I guess all of us who learned to swim as kids have had our moments. Mine happened in Seapoint in Dublin. I was 10 and considered myself a great swimmer although I had only really mastered it the year before. My Dad was smoking a cigarette on the slip and I had fallen off the shallow part, into the deep water right in front of him. I thought I was screaming help as the current dragged me further and further away from the slip. My mouth was opening with a silent scream and filling with salty water the more I tried to swim back.
Just as I was going limp, I was suddenly grabbed by an older man who had somehow seen me thrashing about. Dad got a shock when he saw me being carried up from the sea. I remember wanting my rescuer to put me down and let me walk like any dignified 10 year old. I ended up being thrown down on the sand, wet and gritty.
This week I was part of an exhibition commemorating the 200 year anniversary of the sinking of the Sea Horse in Tramore Bay. I submitted the two images above. One is that moment of limp submission called Undertow, while the other is an image of survival, I called Sand. Both images are part of an ongoing life long series of self-portraits. This is something quite different from a selfie! I suppose it is an exploration of being alive, the self portrait declares….I exist!
These two giclee prints are being exhibited as part of the Sea Horse Commemoration Exhibition in the Coastguard Station in Tramore. The ship sank in Tramore Bay in the middle of a terrible storm in January 1816. 363 men, women and children were drowned. Try as I might to evoke images from that event, my memory of the last moments of drowning and the revival on the gritty sand were where my heart took me. The exhibition includes wonderful and varied work from a collection of local artists on this theme. On the first weekend of July there will be a number of events to mark for the first time this tragic event.
If you are interested in more of this personal project on self portraiture, you can follow ripeningwoman on Instagram where I occasionally share some of my work from this project.
evocative…memories of being washed off the jetty at Port Aransas and thinking I was going out to sea and there was nothing I could do about it, only far more peaceful than I felt at that moment. I assume you did not at all feel peaceful when this happened.
You know that’s exactly how I felt too as I submitted to the inevitable…..makes you wonder? At the end maybe death is like a lovely kind of going to sleep? Thanks for sharing your story too. I think it’s more common than we know. x
What a fabulous personal project. Can’t wait to see where it leads. And – congrats on being a part of the exhibit!
Although I normally find those events a bit like torture (!!) it was actually really relaxed and interesting to see how each of the artists had responded. We had a wonderful curator and a special remembrance. Thanks Marcie x
That had to be a terrifying experience at any age, but one to remember for sure. Did you know the man who rescued you and did you see him ever again Catherine?
Sue I never really saw him at all. A shadowy figure. I think he might have had words with my Dad, who was speechless of course!!! But never knew who he was and never saw him again……..a guardian angel…….x
It is wonderful to see these titled self portraits, I agree that they are very different than a selfie! I appreciate you sharing information about this event and what it commemorates but so very sad to hear how many lost their lives.
And I’m so glad you were saved, even if you were dumped on the sand!
xoxo
Me too Susan!!! Being dumped in the sand as I look back on it, was my wake up call………could do with one today too!!!
This kind of photography resonates, the images are both beautiful and curious. Knowing where they spring from completes the picture… I looked up the essay by Holly Marie Armishaw on self-portraiture, she articulates well our reasons for using the camera to express our inner-self. I look forward to more of the same, thanks.
Thanks Susan, I agree, I thought her article was excellent…..have you tried the self portraiture yourself? I find Catherine Just is also a good role model for exploring this whole topic…..
Hi, I started exploring self portraiture through college a number of years ago. I have found I’m naturally inclined towards expressing the inner through my camera… Yes I like Catherine Just’s work too…
I found your work on your blog and I understood immediately what you mean…..beautiful images and yes very self exploratory, delighted we are connected.
I love the sense of flow in both of these images, not a dreamy go with the flow, a very real depiction of life flow. What an interesting exhibition. I’m so glad you’re a part of it. And, I have a near drowning story as a kid too, that’s made me afraid of deep water ever since.
Thanks Kim, seems a lot of us had these experiences. So sorry that you were left with that fear. For some reason I always loved the water in spite of everything and if it wasn’t for the intensity of how cold the bloomin’ Atlantic is I would be in it all the time!! The older I get the harder the cold is to bear.
So much to love here! And I must start with those images! So perfect for your theme… I had a similar experience…but in a very crowded pool when I was little. Thank goodness a family friend realized what was happening…I still thank her to this day whenever I see her! Thank goodness it didn’t change my love of the water. Congrats on the exhibition! So deserving with images like these! I’m not into selfies at all…but self portraiture is a totally different ballgame. It’s on my list. I did start with one of Catherine’s classes, but quickly realized that large classes are not for me. My bad for not clarifying that up front. So I’m still on the hunt….Now I’m off to IG to see your new feed!
O great Robin, so let’s do it ourselves! I didn’t actually sign up for her class but followed an Instagram hashtag #selfportraitureasmedicine I went back and found lots of photos I have taken over the years…..now to find a way to process them so they are not over done, but maybe hang together some how? So far it’s a real bit of fun. Glad you still like the water though, me too…..luckily…….