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Hiding from the camera for the camera: the photographer-subject in self-portraiture

thesis
posted on 2017-02-21, 23:19 authored by Fahd, Cherine
When a photographer points the camera at a subject other than him or herself a series of subtle exchanges are activated. This exegesis investigates the theoretical, socio-cultural and creative issues associated with such exchanges, as a way of contextualising my own photographic portraiture. The act of looking, being looked at and posing initiates my interest in well-known notions of power, disclosure and self-presentation that characterise the interchange between photographer and subject. However, I argue that while such notions offer a theoretical framework for analysing the complexity of photographer-subject relations in photographic portraiture, they fall short of accounting for the dynamics of photographer and subject in self-portraiture. In the practice of self-portraiture,the photographer-subject nexus is rarely scrutinised in terms of power – since the voluntary act of pointing a camera at oneself implies the photographer’s readiness to ‘play’ subject. My project – my studio work and this exegesis – examine the often peculiar dynamics between photographer and subject in self-portraiture more closely. Through my own strategy of hiding from the camera I argue that the assumption of a unity between photographer and subject in self-portraiture breaks down.

History

Campus location

Australia

Principal supervisor

Daniel Palmer

Year of Award

2015

Department, School or Centre

Fine Art

Course

Doctor of Philosophy

Degree Type

DOCTORATE

Faculty

Faculty of Art, Design and Architecture

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    Faculty of Art, Design and Architecture Theses

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