Sophie Schwartz: Third Place, April ’11

“Self-portraiture allows the photographer a unique control that cannot be replicated with any other subject. The photographs capture the contradiction of individual isolation and the sameness between all of us. As such, even though the subject is always me, I am a stand-in for the pressure young people place on each other not to stand out too much…to be safely homogeneous. Whether framed, in an auditorium, or in a closet, the constraints are always present, even though I choose to conform.”

Sophie Schwartz