Untitled (after Baldessari) 121 x 31cm (2010) C type prints
STATEMENT:
Based in London, my practice is primarily photography. Growing up, my father worked from home as a newspaper cartoonist.
With his studio out of bounds, his cartoon strips took on a forbidden appeal. In this way, I developed a fascination for black and white images and sequences that regularly emerge in my work.
Incorporating life experience into my ideas, I now often turn the camera on myself, becoming the subject of black and white scenes. Exaggerated actions are set against neutral environments. Bridging photography and performance art, my work addresses emotional responses to everyday occurrences. These often-absurd enactments are staged for the camera, acting as metaphors for the display of tangled or awkward feelings. In one such piece from 2010: Untitled (After Baldessari), I mimic an original 1974 Baldessari piece (Artist's Identity Hidden With Various Hats) using myself as the subject. Hiding my face in an ironic look at self-consciousness in self-portraiture, this piece is part of a project which looks at persona in what we choose to hide or reveal to those around us.
In recent photographs, I explore the struggle in adjusting to loss and uncertainty. Referring to life events, I exaggerate their memory in imaginary actions. Lockdown inspired me to incorporate my writing into staged self-portrait photographs. This new body of work, called Musings, addresses time slowing down and how this altered tempo can intensify our outlook.
BIOGRAPHY:
Georgina McNamara is a London-based visual artist, practising primarily in performative photography.
Regularly using herself as the model, the works embrace her individual, lived experience.
Her first degree was a BA in Art History from the University of East Anglia. After working in the publishing industry, McNamara returned to study Jewellery Design at Middlesex University, then continued with a Postgraduate Certificate in Photography (2008) and an MA in Fine Art (2011) both at Central Saint Martins College in London.
She is the recipient of several awards and her work has been exhibited nationally and internationally.
Selected group exhibitions include New Contemporaries (ICA London and Site Gallery Sheffield UK 2011) and Creekside Open (APT Gallery London UK: 2009 & 2013).
Based in London, my practice is primarily photography. Growing up, my father worked from home as a newspaper cartoonist.
With his studio out of bounds, his cartoon strips took on a forbidden appeal. In this way, I developed a fascination for black and white images and sequences that regularly emerge in my work.
Incorporating life experience into my ideas, I now often turn the camera on myself, becoming the subject of black and white scenes. Exaggerated actions are set against neutral environments. Bridging photography and performance art, my work addresses emotional responses to everyday occurrences. These often-absurd enactments are staged for the camera, acting as metaphors for the display of tangled or awkward feelings. In one such piece from 2010: Untitled (After Baldessari), I mimic an original 1974 Baldessari piece (Artist's Identity Hidden With Various Hats) using myself as the subject. Hiding my face in an ironic look at self-consciousness in self-portraiture, this piece is part of a project which looks at persona in what we choose to hide or reveal to those around us.
In recent photographs, I explore the struggle in adjusting to loss and uncertainty. Referring to life events, I exaggerate their memory in imaginary actions. Lockdown inspired me to incorporate my writing into staged self-portrait photographs. This new body of work, called Musings, addresses time slowing down and how this altered tempo can intensify our outlook.
BIOGRAPHY:
Georgina McNamara is a London-based visual artist, practising primarily in performative photography.
Regularly using herself as the model, the works embrace her individual, lived experience.
Her first degree was a BA in Art History from the University of East Anglia. After working in the publishing industry, McNamara returned to study Jewellery Design at Middlesex University, then continued with a Postgraduate Certificate in Photography (2008) and an MA in Fine Art (2011) both at Central Saint Martins College in London.
She is the recipient of several awards and her work has been exhibited nationally and internationally.
Selected group exhibitions include New Contemporaries (ICA London and Site Gallery Sheffield UK 2011) and Creekside Open (APT Gallery London UK: 2009 & 2013).
All images copyright © 2023 Georgina McNamara.
All rights reserved.