Janieta Eyre Clones Herself
They say that you can never truly see yourself; not in mirrors, or photos, or windows, or water. All you see is a flat reflection. You go through life with only an idea of how other people see you in the three dimensions, always one step removed from every true angle. Unless you’re (un)-lucky enough to have a twin – “the creepy kind,” as one of my friends with a non-creepy, fraternal twin brother would put it. From mythical manifestations as partners-in-crime who finish each others’ sentences to polar opposites who seek to annihilate each other, the concept of twins has always enthralled and horrified the human race.
Photographer Janieta Eyre doesn’t have a twin sister, so she decided to make one for herself. Are the self-portraits a manifestation of her desire to see herself in more dimensions, act out a wish to have a twin or explore the creepiness of having one? Another interpretation is that the pictures are about choice, the aching wish that we all sometimes have to be able to make two choices simultaneously at one moment in time.
April 10th, 2008 at 10:00 pm
Zomg! I LOVE Janieta Eyre! I’m so lucky to have seen so much of her work over the years… and my not-so-secret joy, leading the committee that purchased this http://www.artnet.com/artwork/152875/366/making-babies.html for a public collection. It is possibly my favourite piece, although, The Yes Queen blew my mind when I saw it for the first time… http://www.dianefarrisgallery.com/artist/eyre/ex00/images/14.jpg
:Swoon!:
April 10th, 2008 at 10:36 pm
oh those are awesome pics :) makes me really want to do more arty/creative twin shoots with my sister :)