Kirsten Albert

Metamorphosis

Metamorphosis is a series of self portraits transformed into collaged Polaroid emulsion lifts and Polaroid images that are based on identity, and femininity. Over many years of bullying and verbal abuse that resulted in self image issues, I have turned to photography to examine ways to understand my feelings and heal from these experiences and gain an appreciation of self. Photographing myself  teaches me new ways of seeing my body and I begin to recognize parts of myself I have always disliked or criticized.  

The Polaroid provides a lack of control and causes instantaneous and momentous properties or characteristics which, at times, is unexpected. This is where the emulsion lift process comes into play. I'm interested in this process because it allows me to create a fragmented or layered image that relates to my emotional state of making and the turbulent transformation that I have experienced. The broken images create a connection with the body I became familiar with, as well as representing the recognition of discovering beauty in self.  The imperfections created between each image and the series as a whole, demonstrates that once something is broken, it can never be fully placed back together. Layering each Polaroid in a skewed fashion obscures the form of the body, allowing me to work in a transitive space between perception and reality, as well as abstraction and representation.