Fragmented Self Photograohy Series | 2020

Created in 2020, Fragmented Self marks a departure from photography as a preliminary stage to painting, establishing it as an autonomous practice while retaining a distinctly painterly aesthetic. Constructed through reflections in broken mirrors set in derelict industrial landscapes, the images form fractured, collage-like self-portraits that explore female subjectivity, sexuality and self-image. Fruits, mirrors and other vanitas motifs evoke the tension between the concealment and display of the female body, while the visual language of the mirror selfie draws attention to self-objectification, fragmentation and the estrangement of the self in contemporary digital culture. Photographed in Barreiro Industrial Park on the outskirts of Lisbon, the series also functions as a memento mori where the decaying industrial ruins underscore the impermanence of human endeavour and the fragility of systems once perceived as powerful and enduring.