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Self Portrait towards White

Self Portrait towards White
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    • Self Portrait towards White
    • Autoportret către alb
  • 1975
  • b&w photographs
  • 18 × 72,5 cm
“Self-portrait towards White” shows seven photos of the artist’s face in a horizontal row. Geta Brătescu's face is uncovered at the beginning of the series, but it then disappears gradually beneath layers of transparent but light-reflecting plastic film which are gradually piled up. This transforms the face into a shimmering, abstract object bearing formal associations with modern sculpture. What concerns Brătescu here is a process via which to symbolize the transition from the subjective to the objective; in the political context of Romania, the “overcoming” of the real in favor of abstraction was tantamount to a subversive act against the system. This work by Bratescu overlaps both formally and conceptually with the performative art of the West (particularly that of the feminist variety), which likewise aimed to undermine the prevailing representational system and the ideologies contained therein. S.E.