Photography and Identity

Elina Brotherus

In her series of images ‘Le Miroir’, Brotherus has given us the chance to witness the emergence of her own identity.  She stands like a statue in front of a steamed up mirror, waiting patiently for her reflection to reappear.  Not only does her stance not change, nor the material things around her, but her emotionless expression also remains still, almost clinical in appearance. 

In much of her work, Brotherus turns the camera on herself during her most traumatic experiences so as to capture the raw emotion that I’m sure we can all identify with in one way or another.  This makes her stoic expression all the more unsettling.  However, this scientific approach to a self portrait makes it all the more clear that she is not photographing herself through vanity or self indulgence, rather she is trying to capture images which describe the human condition.  For me, this work reads as a journey through self-discovery and acceptance.