“Study me as much as you like, you will not know me, for I differ in a hundred ways from what you see me to be. Put yourself behind my eyes and see me as I see myself, for I have chosen to dwell in a place you cannot see.”
This saying by Rumi, a 13th-century Sufi mystic, was the source of inspiration for The Mask and the Mirror. This series developed from the idea of trying to know what can’t be known or trying to see what can’t be seen.
I have a fascination with mirrors, which are a recurring theme in my photography. Mirrors appear throughout history as a means of self-knowledge and self-delusion. In medieval times the mirror was thought to be the door through which the soul frees itself by passing and was used for divination. Mirrors were also considered to be open portals to other dimensions.
I created these images intuitively, using self-portraits and a post-processing composite technique with altered colors and added textures.
© 2023 Claudia Ruiz Gustafson . All rights reserved
