These images are part of: Nude | Indoors | Studio | Mirror
By placing the Nude on a mirror, the gaze falls upon the body and the reflection in the same glance. The line between reality and reflection becomes obvious and emphasized. Figure photography is often criticized for only showing the perfect; with the mirror Nudes, working on a scared and damaged mirror meant that the model is perfection and the reflection is flawed. Often, in these images, the distinction between what is an original and what is a simulacrum becomes blurred, and one has to look for clues before understanding the visual puzzle.
Usually photographing in the studio is the antithesis of the way I prefer to work and doesn’t engage my enthusiasm. All this changed the first time I saw a model upon the mirror. The unexpected perspectives, challenging spatial relationships and visual complexity of the mirror nudes draw me in. Between 1999 and 2001, I returned again and again to the concept of the Mirror Nudes, bringing different models and approaches to the same basic premise.
Simulacra, my first solo show in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, was held at ViewPoint Gallery in January of 2001.