Self-Portrait 1979

This is Manon Cleary’s self-portrait, an image of herself on paper, in tones of grey. The first thing I notice is the angle of light cutting across her face, that strong contrast. It's a dramatic choice, right? I wonder what she was thinking, in the moment of making this? Perhaps about the tradition of self-portraiture, and how artists use their own image as a canvas for exploration. The soft gradations remind me of charcoal, but it could be graphite. Either way, there's a real sense of touch, of the artist's hand moving across the surface. It reminds me of other works from the period, that intense interest in the self. It's like she’s inviting us to be a witness to a moment of self-reflection. Artists are always in conversation, aren't they? The questions each of them asks get passed down across time.