So in a sense she is implicit in the images, like two sides of a medal; interdigitating. The varied forms of representing Self are in conversation with each other. In portraiture, Attire/Costume, posture/pose, and environment/backdrop work as broadcasting signals, or codes to be interpreted.
Some images reference African American portraiture from the early and mid 20th century where the preoccupations of an aspiring class are made visible in the image composition. Others present visual
indicators of the transcendent nature of hip hop and globalized youth culture.
By overexposing her film her images take on the impression of another time affording them a strange dramaturgy consistent with the portraiture of studio photographers James Van der Zee and Malick Sidibé despite the fact that Jackson displays her protagonists in their own space.
In a series of single portraits, which reference The Thinker, Ayana V. Jackson concentrates on faces, gestures and activities as well as on individual charisma. Her protagonists are talking through pictures and the dialog of the Looking-Glass Self takes place between the artist and the portrayed person. >> more |
