At Least One Egg (Avallon) 2016

Elina Brotherus made this photograph, At Least One Egg (Avallon), and it strikes me as a playful experiment with ideas about chance and control. There's a stillness to the image that feels very deliberate, yet the composition is full of unexpected elements. The woman’s raised hand mirroring the drooping wisteria, her solemn expression, and the egg balanced precariously on her head – it all creates a wonderful sense of tension. I love the way Brotherus teases out these formal arrangements in her work, setting up simple parameters and seeing what emerges through the process. It reminds me a little of Hannah Wilke’s self-portraits, where she uses her own body as a site for exploring beauty, identity, and transformation. But where Wilke’s work is often overtly sexualized, Brotherus brings a more understated, almost deadpan sensibility to her performances. What do you think?