SELF IMAGE AND IDENTITY

Turner Contemporary, Margate

More than 100 self-portraits from the 16th century to the present day show how artists have chosen to represent their identities through painting, drawing, sculpture, photography and film.

Ranging from old masters such by Sir Anthony Van Dyck through to recent work by contemporary artists such as Yinka Shonibare, the development of the “selfie” will be considered through a series of themes including history, celebrity, collecting, gender, mortality and contemporary approaches.

Artists have been recreating their own image for centuries. From self-advertisement and preserving legacy, to figurative studies, political commentary, self-portraiture has shaped Western art.

Central to the exhibition is the last known self-portrait by Van Dyck, court painter to Charles I. Regarded as Britain’s first “celebrity” artist, he was also the most influential portrait painter ever to have worked in Britain and his legacy was to last for the next three centuries.

His self-portrait was acquired by the National Portrait Gallery in 2014. The venue for Self: Image and Identity, Turner Contemporary will be the first venue where visitors can see Van Dyck’s self-portrait as it sets off on a three-year national tour.

Other artists featured in the exhibition include Louise Bourgeois, John Constable, Tracey Emin, Lucian Freud, Damien Hirst, David Hockney and JMW Turner.

Self: Image and Identity is running at the Turner Contemporary until Sunday,
May 10. Entry is free. Visit www.turnercontemporary.org