Narcissism 2008

With the current internet trends of Facebook and blogging we see a visible manifestation of the spectacle of the self. It offers endless opportunities to not only construct a self but also put it on display. This form of narcissism is just a spill out of what has become a fixation of our culture. Advertising and celebrity culture has long been known to encourage narcissism.

The above work explores the artist as narcissist. The gaze of the artist is locked in a cycle where the self is trapped within the self. It becomes a self destructive trap. Narcissus’ fixation with his own image was his death. The theme of the narcissist is linked to ideas of idolization. The four works above explore these aspects.

‘Screen Test’ is a referral to Andy Warhol’s film ‘Screen Test’. Andy Warhol's Screen Tests were filmed from early 1964 - November 1966. Factory visitors who had potential "star" quality would be seated in front of a tripod mounted camera, asked to be as still as possible, and told not to blink while the camera was running. All these stars of the factory like Edie Sedgwick had both narcissistic and self-destructive tendencies, Andy Warhol’s work is known as glance into celebrity culture and pop culture in the 1950’s and 60’s. ‘Look at me’ explores the artist’s gaze and the vanity of the artist.In 'Paparazzi' the author become the idoliser and idolised, the scrutinizer and scrutinised.