Disguise Yourself as Another Object (Wallpaper) 2016

In this photograph Elina Brotherus explores representation and identity by placing herself next to a life-size image of herself. The color palette is restrained; blues, reds, and creams dominate, creating a sense of muted realism and a playful contrast between the photograph and the artist's presence. The material aspect of the photo is intriguing. Brotherus stands barefoot alongside what seems to be a wallpaper of herself. This doubles us, but the flatness of the wall version compared to the 'real' Elina highlights the strangeness of representation. The light in the 'real' image is far warmer, and the tutu slightly darker, adding to the artifice of the scene, while also raising questions about the nature of performance and the self. It reminds me a little of Cindy Sherman, who also uses photography to explore the construction of identity, yet here there is none of the artifice of Sherman's staged scenes. What does it mean to disguise yourself as another object, in this case your own image? Perhaps it is a way of questioning our relationship to the self, and how we are perceived by others.