Haley Hasler
The self-portrait confronts the viewer with an outward representation of the inner self. Here is the exterior as seen by the interior.
The self-portrait as a character introduces a further element. While the self-portrait implies that the artist is showing us the truth, a representation of the exterior in disguise conveys the impossibility and doubleness of this endeavor. The costumed self-portrait pays homage to the illusion of painting. Still, underneath the layers of concealment, the interior reflects back as in a mirror.
Through the seemingly private world of self-portraiture and autobiographical narrative, I hope to present a compelling fictive world, without dictating a precise narrative or relying on a static symbolism. I try to invest the figure with an iconic confrontability – making it operate both as self-portrait and archetypal heroine. At the same time, the narrative aspect of the work is meant to subvert the strictly iconic mode – once again, conveying the questionability of a painting’s claim to truth.
The theatrical aspect of my work is deliberate, to emphasize painting’s connection with artifice and enactment. I conceive of a painting as a kind of theatre – a stage set for my characters and protagonists. Through the shallow, receding stage-like space, I wish to emphasize the unreality and illusion off a painting, which contradict its paradoxical appearance of reality.
Painting impels me to cross the border freely between the universe of things and the universe of the imagination. The former involves an urgent encounter between the eye and the exterior world, while the latter contains the interior universe of memory, history, narrative, and desire. Ultimately, I let the painting itself speak to me – its formal needs guide the narrative and the subject, and give the work meaning.
