Smithsonian magazine's 22nd Annual Photo Contest | Made possible through the support of MPB.com

20th Annual Smithsonian Magazine Photo Contest Artistic
Surrender

Self Portrait shot on Polaroid as an Emulsion Lift transferred to glass. At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, I began a series using Self-Portrait as a tool to investigate my mental state. I was diagnosed with PTSD and started recording my days on Polaroids through Emulsion Lifts. I had the impetus to transform the image with my own hands. If I don't like an idea, why don't I like it? And if I deconstruct her whole, what does she become? The result has been therapeutic. Deconstructing a self-portrait was the beginning of a path of deep self-knowledge, as I felt the need to overflow into a physical, material format, feelings, and sensations that could not be spoken. Hybrid Photography is a revolution as it appears at a personal, intimate moment of usually pain and discomfort and naturally evolves into a healing place. Deconstrute to Reconstrute.

Photo Detail
Date Taken: 03.2020
Date Uploaded: 11.2022
Photo Location: São Paulo, Brazil
Camera: ILCE-7M3
Copyright: © BRUNA VALENÇA