Perhaps what moves us when we look at self-portraiture is its inherent tension. It feels intimate, and yet we are aware that the composition has been carefully engineered for public consumption. If eyes are the window to the soul, then what can we learn from a self-portrait? Take Frida Kahlo, perhaps the world’s most iconic self-portraitist. Much of her enduring legacy, as explored in London’s Victoria & Albert Museum’s summer exhibition, Frida Kahlo: Making Her Self Up, remains centered around the vivid visual power of her person as told through her self-portraits. What do we uncover of Kahlo through them? “In Frida’s case, she was not thinking of becoming famous when This story is from Kinfolk Issue Twenty-Eight Buy Now Related Stories Arts & Culture Issue 51 Emily Gernild The Danish painter breathing new life into an old medium. Arts & Culture Food Issue 51 Imogen Kwok The artist takes food styling quite literally, creating accessories out of fruits and vegetables. Arts & Culture Issue 50 Close Knit Meet the weavers keeping traditional Egyptian tapestry-making alive. Arts & Culture Issue 50 New Roots The Palestinian agriculture collective sowing seeds of community. Arts & Culture Issue 49 Checked Out Why is hotel art so boring? Arts & Culture Issue 49 Cult Rooms The history—and future—of Luna Luna Park.
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