These self-portraits by Sam Taylor-Wood are truly inspiring. As she explores notions of weight and gravity, she places herself in situations where her interior and external sense of self is in conflict. Born in London in 1967, Taylor-Wood studied at Goldsmiths College and went on to become a prolific film-maker and photographer. Highly acclaimed, Sam was nominated for the Turner Prize in 1997 and won the Illy Caf Prize for Most Promising Young Artist at the 47th Venice Biennale. “Praise really isn’t that important to me from anyone other than the people whose opinion I respect. I don’t crave it – and I never read reviews any more. I know people say that, but I really don’t read any of them. I have done in the past and it affects you so fundamentally that you know in the future that just one wrong word in an otherwise nice review can be really upsetting. I remember one particularly bad one after a show that I thought had been the best in my life. It blights everything – and yet it’s just one person’s opinion.” Well Sam, I love your work anyways.
Bram Stoker’s Chair series
Sam Taylor-Wood at the White Cube Gallery via colectiva