Autorretrato e autorrepresentação: variações sobre um tema

The present work “Self-portrait and self-representation: variations on a theme” addresses the issue of self-representation in art through the creation of a series of drawn self-portraits. The project has an investigative character, and the drawings were developed in series from the exploration of varied techniques and materials, sometimes traditional, sometimes less conventional. The creative process focused on making selfportraits using a mirror, an indispensable item that allows us to observe our face directly. The drawings created from the reflection’s observation were transformed throughout the development process of the series, enabling the discovery of new representational forms that deviate from the mimetic reproduction of the mirror image. The way the face was represented went through major changes throughout the development of the self-portraits. The use of chance in the creation of accidental stains contributed to a more freely and subjective graphic registration, avoiding the more objective figurative representation of the face. From experiences with various tools and techniques, it was possible to find new answers that increased the exploration of structural elements of the drawing’s graphic language with stains, strokes, textures or color. The project presents a theoretical research related to the theme in question, and a practical part that reports the experiments performed during the development of the work, as well as the results obtained from the artistic research. The first two parts focus on the study of the emergence of self-portrait in art history; the concept of self-representation, especially in modern and contemporary art; in the theoretical study concerning the creation of serial drawings; and in approaching the issue of variation of the same theme in artistic practice. The third and last part focuses on the practical work, ie the process of creating the self-portraits