emulation: anne arden mcdonald

When I first saw Anne Arden McDonald’s self-portraits, the word that came to mind was “witchy.” Her self-portraits are taken mostly in abandoned buildings, lending them an eerie air, but also have a sense of ritual: McDonald, as the subject of her photos, sometimes looks like she’s gone mad, but nevertheless has a very deliberate sense of purpose. Her photos contend with the conflict between the limitations of the tangible world and her unlimited, boundless imagination: in her photos, she tries to create her dreams, nightmares, and fantasies. Setting them in abandoned buildings, appearing to be utterly alone, and never showing her face combine to make her photos feel a little bit creepy to me, but in a powerful and intentional way. When I look at McDonald’s photos, I have no idea why she is doing the things she is doing; her photos never tell a complete story. Nevertheless, they feel satisfying to look at: incredible compositionally, and fascinating in terms of subject. Why is this woman doing such crazy things in such creepy places?

In making my photos, I tried to capture this same sense of aloneness, mystery, and ritual. My photos pose questions without giving answers, and I tried to give them a sense of purpose: I am doing the things I am doing for a reason, but the viewer doesn’t know what it is. I chose to take my photos nude because I worried that any clothing I might wear would gender my body in ways that would make my gender the political focus of my photos. Anne Arden McDonald’s photos have a tangible lack of spectatorship, however, so I tried not to use photos that would draw too much attention to the fact of my nudity and therefore sexualize my body.