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PSYCHOLOGY IN THE FIELD OF PHOTOGRAPHY

"Therapeutic" photography, according to the psychoanalytic model, is a very useful path both to become more aware of one's physical identity and as an aid to strengthen one's self-esteem. The self-portrait has always been part of human rituals, whether those portraits were painted, filmed or photographed. In most self-portraits, the components for a shot are, most often: a neutral background, the subject, the camera, and, the implicit and fundamental element for the creation of a self-portrait, the mirror. This last is an object that has continually stimulated the observation and thoughts of psychologists and psychoanalysts, in particular, of Jacques Lacan, who legitimately named one of the phases of man's psychic development the "Mirror stage".

To survive, man has long understood that he must become immortal, that he must overcome the limits of human consciousness without worrying about common sense or logic. However, he must also remember that he is not invincible and that a mere micro organism is enough to put his security in question. Knowing this, he is forced to re-prioritize this life.

TAKE A RISK

“My images partly reflect my difficult past which I transform each time into something eternal and unforgettable. Photography for me goes far beyond holding a camera in my hand and knowing how to use it. It was of therapeutic help and created the opportunity to observe the thousand souls that live within me. Photography has helped me exit a world full of abuse and violence on my body ever since my childhood. I was able to create my own secret space, a world in which I am my master, free to dream. Thanks to photography, I learned to survive in an era where society requires us to be strong, invincible and successful. In the contemporary world in which we live, the addiction to images leaves us orphaned from our identity. Fortunately, there is culture, the only way capable of redeeming man.”

“Of what I can be for me, not only can you not know anything, but neither can I, myself.”

Luigi Pirandello

RESTORATIVE PHOTOGRAPHY

“The authentic task of the photographic portrait is to extract the psychological truth of the subject..”

Nadar

Luckily, there is culture, the only thing capable of redeeming mankind. Monica Silva investigates the various psychological aspects of the self-portrait, having started with herself when she placed the camera on the tripod and took one picture a week in an effort to understand her identity during a moment of personal loss. After a few months, she found women literally unknown to her, who, to her surprise, were none other than herself in different phases of her daily life. These images were accompanied by a diary where she collected texts and thoughts on her emotional state and it was then that she understood fully the power of photography..

PERSONAL STATEMENT

Thus began her in-depth theoretical research on the subject of the portrait, discovering that she was not the only person in history to investigate their own soul, their own identity. Albrecht Dürer, Adelaide Labille-Guiard, Andy Warhol, Caravaggio, Francis Bacon, Lee Friedlander, Gustave Coubert, Francesca Woodman, and Artemisia Gentileschi, just to name a famous few, have also explored the art of self-portraiture. In a society where facade is imposed as a form of identity, together with the myth of personal affirmation, what is the boundary between the sacredness of existence and the desecration of social rituals? This is the theme that Monica Silva has explored through her own experience and, intrigued and fascinated by photography as a mending art, she has collected over time a vast archive of testimonies and composed various texts on the subject of self-portraiture. She has also conducted many conferences and workshops in Italy and abroad on the subject of therapeutic photography.

MY HIDDEN EGO FIRST EXIBITION

Between 2010 and 2011, the artist emerged from contemplating theory to stage an ambitious project entitled MY HIDDEN EGO, in search of a secret “I”, one that is hidden from most people and perhaps even from themselves. With My Hidden Ego, Silva entered the experimental here-and-now and, using various media, investigated the psychology of the person, revealing the secret, hidden sides of the subjects chosen for her shots. Thirty photographs of various personalities were taken against a white background and portrayed in two versions: one shot portraying the social ego, or how the subject presents himself to the judgment of others; the second revealing another ego, kept inside, whether a different personality or an expression of the desire to be someone else. Two shots: one for objective, actual reality and one for the potential in being exposed to the public, shared in an exhibition with interactive installations at Palazzo Pichi Sforza, Sansepolcro.

RESTORATIVE PHOTOGRAPHY

PSYCHOLOGICAL AND SOCIAL IMPLICATION

“Every morning you look in the mirror and what you see collides with the image you have of yourself, with the image that others have of you, with an ideal of a dominant personality in society". The self-portrait, from the ancient myth of Narcissus to Durer’s so-called "self-portraits of Christ", continues to spread among contemporary artists and proves the act of portraying oneself is part of a centuries-long tradition. It is the artistic genre that best distinguishes our era; man has reached the maximum saturation of the ego even if, going deeper, we discover that every human being since the dawn of time has been seduced by the autobiographical impulse, using every means to leave a trace of himself in this land.

Modern artists are a long way from exhausting the strength and potential of the self-portrait and when the self-portrait is used not for a foolish game of vanity, but for a serious journey of exploration, self-inquiry and self-awareness, it becomes a healing tool for the soul. It is an excellent exercise, that of investigating one's inner reality, as after a profound self-analysis, one is able to shape the expressiveness of the soul. Because, after all, photographing others with one's own vision is a real and true “selfie,” a "mirror" on the subject. 'The Vitalism', the continuous change from one state to another, leads one to believe that they are "one" both for themselves and for the people around them, but the truth is that there are many different people in each of us depending on who is watching. One image tells much more than we know about ourselves; it is enough to wait a while before reviewing one of our photographs to grasp the nuances of which we were not aware before. In short, the self-portrait is an inspiring symbol of artistic freedom, an opportunity to investigate one's self but also a symptom of what has been characterized as the "culture of narcissism”.

THE SOUL IN THE PORTRAIT

Portraiture is more than just capturing a face. It represents an entire life. This is why it is an important aspect in declaring the existence of a person. The portrait is a necessity, a latent desire to counteract the erosive and destructive action of time. Shaping the expressiveness of the soul is to use photography as a tool for revealing the forms of the personality. Here the photographer's task is not only to document - nor to capture just another essence of the subject - but above all to bring it to light in a personal way and to reveal it to the subject himself. Artists have the ability to see the present moment as if it were already part of the past, transforming scenes into eternal art.

Photography serves, consciously or not, as doors to accessibility, in order to better explore and communicate affections, emotions, and desires.

The ability to grasp the non-evident part of the subject's character is in fact a gift, but also a quest. To grasp the soul of those who let themselves be portrayed and being able to shape the subject to bring out an "another character" is both a gift and the dream of every photographer.

I’LL BE YOUR MIRROR SELF-PORTRAIT FOR BETTER SELF-ESTEEEM

“…I often feel that people come to me to be photographed as they would go to a doctor or a fortune teller to find out how they are. So they’re dependent on me. I have to engage them. Otherwise there’s nothing to photograph. The concentration has to come from me and involve them. Sometimes the force of it grows so strong that sounds in the studio go unheard. Time stops. We share a brief, intense intimacy. But it’s unearned. It has no past...no future. And when the sitting is over - when the picture is done - there’s nothing left except the photograph.”.

Richard Avedon