Mirror to Mirror

     The images in my work explore the metaphorical use of the fragmented mirror or the frame within the frame. The use of mirrors within the photographic field is best explained by John Szarkowski’s seminal exhibition and essay “Mirrors and Windows: American Photography Since 1960” presented at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in 1978. He describes the mirror as metaphorically being representative of a reflection of the photographer’s sensibilities and the state of looking in, while the window symbolizes the act of gazing outwards. Both forms of expression remain continuous which allows for the possible overlap of the two. The mirror has always been linked to photography, the camera, or by extension, the photographic image. I embrace discontinuity, light, and selected reflection as the centerpiece of my black and white photographic project titled Mirror to Mirror. 

     Unlike a mirror that reflects a complete image of what is in front of it, the mirrors in my work limit one’s perception. I use small mirrors varying in shape and scale, which create compositions that obscure the view of the subject. By placing mirrors within the settings of various backgrounds, the spatial appearance is altered to convey an atmosphere of surreality. Mirrors simplify and insinuate a gradual building of form throughout each image by constructing frames within the frame. The undefined edges of the mirrors suggest an illusion of depth, and the subject appears immersed within another layer. 

     For instance, in Untitled #7, there are 7 separate square mirrors that are diagonally arranged and appear as though they are floating within a black space. Three mirrors contain the subject’s eye and one reflects part of the subject’s forehead. This piece connects the eyes which portray parts of the nose and mouth. All of the mirrors overlap, blending into a new formation of the face which alludes to a complicated sense of identity. Mirror to Mirror questions our possibility to perceive one unified whole from the multitude of one’s self.