Untitled #183 1988

Cindy Sherman made this photograph, Untitled #183, without specifying when, or even what it’s made of, a process in itself. We see a figure in costume, but it is the subtle variations in the colour palette, the shades of whites and creams, that point to the artifice of the scene. There’s a tension between surface and depth, or maybe between what’s real and what’s fake. The breastplate is so obviously fake, and the dress itself appears worn, perhaps taken from a theatrical wardrobe. Look at the lines created by the shiny breastplate. Its surface is smooth yet the markings are crude. This reminds me of the painter Chaim Soutine, who was interested in surface, texture and the materiality of paint, the relationship between representation and abstraction. Ultimately, this image is a provocation, an open question, a space to explore. Sherman invites us to play with these elements and find our own meanings.