The photographic self-portrait as psychological investigation

Without going into detail about her quite articulated programme, I would like to dwell briefly on a few of the theoretical implications of using the photographic self-portrait for psychological inquiry. As I mentioned, at the root of everything is the rather complex and controversial relationship with our image as we perceive it. This brings in the dynamic of the mirror, of which the photo self-portrait is a special instance. According to established psychoanalytical tradition, it has to do with the process of formation of the self. Thus the fascination and effectiveness of the self-portrait is related to the problem of identity, which it reproposes over and over again. In effect the photo self-portrait, precisely because of its ease and transparency, represents a concentration of the original relationship with the mirror. As if, posing each time in front of the mirror as if for the first time, we may discover some new facet of our identity and at the same time build a different one, recreating and inventing a new one on each occasion. In its simplicity, which digital technology has made even more immediate, the photo self-portrait, with its incredible and automatic rapidity, also has a uniquely serious function.