Dick, 2018. © Ryan McGinley, Mirror Mirror (Rizzoli Electa)
The self that we present to the world is groomed, clothed, and adorned. In the mirror, we preen and pose– much in the same way we might do a for a photograph. But what if all that frippery was stripped away?
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This is the question American photographer Ryan McGinley explores in his new conceptual book Mirror Mirror (Rizzoli Electa). Over a two year period that began in Spring 2016, McGinley invited 100 friends to participate in a project that would require them to take nude self-portraits taken inside their New York City homes. He provided 15 door-sized mirrors, a camera and five rolls of film, and let them run free. As the project progressed, McGinley reviewed the contact sheets, refining the instructions to bring out his subjects’ best, before making the final selection of images for the book.
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The self-portraits, titled only by first name (and last initial at times), take anonymity and intimacy to newfound heights. Viewers feel a sense of exploration, experimentation, and discovery that lead to the moment these images were made.
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Jade, 2018. © Ryan McGinley, Mirror Mirror (Rizzoli Electa)