20 Artists Staring At Themselves
Art

20 Artists Staring At Themselves

Well, not exactly. However, photographer and artist Matthew Morrocco's latest project does show lots of artists either posing with mirrors, gazing away from their reflections or just looking right at themselves. What do you see?

We're cooped up with more time than ever to think, so, in its own way, Mirror Portraits captures the sense of isolation we all feel, but from a community-centered lens. Morrocco describes the project, which features multidisciplinary creative types, from Jacolby Satterwhite and West Dakota to Kimberly Drew, as "a series of photographs of my friends and artistic circle" and a study in self-actualization and friendship.

When putting the project together, Morrocco says he kept things casual, "earnest and natural," reaching out to folks he's known for awhile. The end product reveals artists in control of their individual identities.

Jacolby Satterwhite 

"I've always believed that people become artists because of a compulsion to endure like a stone castle or temple," he explains. "There's this desire to tie down certain moments in history and make them last. That certitude is written on their faces."

Perhaps accidentally, Mirror Portraits feels like a reflection on our current global moment, but Morrocco insists he's no oracle. "I'm not sure I can comprehend what people are experiencing right now, it's all so overwhelming," he says. "I know that personally, I need love these days. This project has been a serious hands on labor of love for the past three years and I wanted to put that out into the world."

Photography: Matthew Morrocco