C&N Coursework, Context & Narrative Blog, HNC Photography, Part 3: Putting Yourself in the Picture, Photographers C&N, Project 3: Self-absented portraiture, Research & Reflection C&N
Maria Kapajeva
Maria Kapajeva is the first artist mentioned in the course notes looking self-absented portraitures. A self-absented portrait does not feature the photographer in a literal sense. The photographer may choose to use stand-in instead or might choose not to have anyone in the image at all.
Maria is an Estonian born, currently working in of the UK. She emigrated to the UK, leaving her life in Estonia behind to study at University of the Creative Arts – where he is now a tutor. And looking at her work and reading about her I’m starting to understand a little about myself.
As an expat who has lived in 3 separate countries, I can understand to her statement in ‘
It’s not easy to be Other and become someone in a foreign place.’
When you emigrate, you leave behind everything that is familiar and become a stranger, an interloper who has to learn to fit in and learn the culture of the new country. This is not always easy, as English male you try to find an English pub to act as a safe haven.
When Kapajava talks about who how she works statement regarding methods of working.
I think there are two ways of working as an artist (at least I see these two): one is you start from a technique and develop / master/ transform it. The second way is to start from an idea and find a technique for it.
I am certainly in the former category, I seldom get an idea and develop it I tend to go from what in know and try to turn that into an idea. This something that I need to change.
Her project A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Woman features portraits of fellow immigrants who are her peers and with whom she identifies. The series of images can be termed self-absented portraits in that Kapajeva has expressed something of her own experiences, struggles and emotions in each portrait. The idea is that the women who are the actual subjects reflect something back to the viewer about Kapajeva.
References
Mariakapajeva.com. (n.d.). A Portrait of the Artist… | Maria Kapajeva. [online] Available at: http://www.mariakapajeva.com/a-portrait-of-the-artist-as-a-young-woman/ [Accessed 9 Oct. 2018].
Boothroyd, S. (2014). Maria Kapajeva. [online] photoparley. Available at: https://photoparley.wordpress.com/2014/05/13/maria-kapajeva/ [Accessed 9 Oct. 2018].