living reruns

wakeupdiana:

Janine Antoni, Lick and Lather. 1993.

Two self-portrait busts: one chocolate and one soap that have been either licked or lathered by the artist.

“I wanted to work with the tradition of self-portraiture but also with the classical bust…I had the idea that I would make a replica of myself in chocolate and in soap, and I would feed myself with my self, and wash myself with my self. Both the licking and the bathing are quite gentle and loving acts, but what’s interesting is that I’m slowly erasing myself through the process. So for me it’s about that conflict, that love/hate relationship we have with our physical appearance, and the problem I have with looking in the mirror and thinking, ‘Is that who I am?’”

I’m struggling with the idea of producing a self portrait right now, so I’ve been looking at all sorts of different artists’ interpretations. I love this; the erasing and the nourishing and the self-care (literally…?). So interesting.