Artworks

Paul Mpagi Sepuya

American, b. 1982

Darkroom Mirror Study, or Aperture, 2017 

Archival pigment print 

Edition 4/5
51 x 34 in. (129.54 x 86.36 cm)

Marie-Louise and Samuel R. Rosenthal Fund, 2021

In Darkroom Mirror Study, the face of the figure in the image (the artist himself) is turned away. At the same time, the tool of his art — the camera — perched upon his shoulder, is aimed directly at the viewer, who is exposed to the camera (Sepuya’s gaze-by-proxy) while his face hidden. This mirrors the effect of his work of art, his photograph of the subject, implied to be us in this image. The sitter’s face would be revealed in the photograph, yet his own will not be. That’s the power, and the subjectivity, of the artist.