Self Portrait Diary

All my work essentially began with this simple act: looking in the mirror and drawing a self portrait. This was the most truthful, honest and fundamental form of picture mak– ing and it came naturally without any particular thought.

It was many things to me. Mostly this was my own form of self awareness. I was con– fused about my real identity as my mind and feelings were changing constantly – I felt I had no point of reference. Whenever I was experiencing something strongly, I would study my face in the mirror and record it as a true reflection of what I was on the inside. I did this over a thousand times during these years.

I became aware of several phenomena: Firstly, I observed that my face changes continuously, bringing out different aspects of my personality and secondly, the hand never lies– it expresses exactly what is going on inside. Drawing even the simplest of faces pro– jects on paper the inner landscape. I began to see the forms of the face as the most fun– damental and abstract elements conveying in an almost scientific manner the total psy– che. Thirdly, I noticed a lateralization of emotions and experiences on each side of the face. Certain thoughts and emotions activated(or stimulated) one side of the face or the other.