Artists & Illustrators - UK (2020-01)

F

or this piece I’m going to

advocate that readers

undertake a form of identity

theft, but this isn't the nefarious

enterprise it might seem. Picture

instead a Stars in Their Eyes-style

opportunity to become, in a painting

at least, someone quite different from

yourself. This may at first seem like

a frivolous exercise, however, when

we begin to explore self-portraiture

through purposeful role playing, we

can gain much greater insight about

our true selves.

There is, of course, some truth

in the notion that we paint well that

which we know, be this the familiar

face in the mirror or our lived

experience. It could also be said,

however, that we may not feel able

to become – and by extension, cannot

conceive of depicting – that which

we cannot see.

When attempting to look beyond

the raw materials of our own

physiognomy, a degree of inhibition

and uncertainty can limit our

exploration. In this workshop, we’re

going to circumvent such constraints

and adopt a whole new persona,

taking it directly from the walls of

the gallery and gifting it to ourselves.

TECHNIQUES

When wandering the halls of an

old gallery, we inevitably encounter

much-admired figureheads of the arts,

science, politics and industry. We may

fantasise how it might feel to stand so

firmly in their shoes that, in a painting

at least, we become them.

But what if we encounter a

predominance of likenesses whose

ethnicity, age, sexuality, gender and

class rarely resemble our own, despite

the continuing drive towards more

inclusive representations within our

public art collections?

Artists have been responding to

this absence by redressing the

balance, placing themselves and their

kin squarely within the pre-filled

frame of figurative art.

Since the mid-1980s, Japanese

conceptual photographer Yasumasa

Morimura has been transforming

himself into famous celebrities and

revolutionaries, directly impersonating

the subjects of our most iconic artists

through complex staging, make-up

and costume. He has described his

practice of elaborate recreation and

image appropriation as “wearing

Western art history”, and through

it explores the broader themes of

self and cultural identity.

In 2018 Barack Obama unveiled

his official portrait, created for the

Smithsonian collection by New

York-based artist Kehinde Wiley.

He was then best known for creating

works that subvert the entire genre

of classical portraiture. His black

subjects, taken from inner cities and

townships and still clad in their own

attire, are transformed through pose

and courtly accessory into duchesses

and dukes, monarchs and emperors.

Executed in a highly realised, classical

style and often on an imposing scale,

Wiley has framed his insertion of

blackness into traditionally European

artwork as a challenge to the way

BAME people can feel excluded within

the museum context and limited by

their stereotypical portrayal. A show

of his work takes place at London’s

William Morris Gallery in 2020.

While I’ve never placed myself

within another artist’s existing

work and always devise my own

compositions, I’ve often donned

costume and disguise in an attempt

to imply the identities of others. On

occasion these people might be real:

individuals whose work, personalities

or perceived strength I admire, such

as my self-portraits Gold Teeth, Dusty,

Dollface and Elvis. Sometimes they

might be film characters whose

narrative arcs or attributes resonated

with me at a particular time in my life.

TOP Roxana Halls,

Dollface, oil on

canvas, 20x20cm

ABOVE Roxana

Halls, Dusty, oil on

canvas, 20x20cm

RIGHT Roxana

Halls, Elvis, oil on

canvas, 20x20cm

Artists & Illustrators 57