Lot 16

19th century portrait photographers who staged the studio for their sitters used mirrors to present multiple angles of their subject within a single exposure. This technique was later employed everywhere from medical photography to mug shots – where the accused could be presented both head-on and in profile by strategically placing a halfmoon-shaped mirror on his or her shoulder. Mirrors made possible the earliest self-portraits, and have been employed in painting for centuries to extend pictorial space and interrogate the viewing process in various ways. Adad Hannah’s Studio Portraits series plays on these techniques, while also using mirrors as a tool to disrupt and disorient spatial compositions, resisting a straightforward narrative. Mounted atop armatures resembling camera rods, lighting rigs or selfie sticks, the mirrors in Studio Portraits were designed by Hannah to be quickly maneuverable while shooting, allowing for spontaneity during each portrait session. As Hannah notes, “the resulting photographs and videos read like collages or paintings, as the reflected fragments of objects outside of the camera’s frame assert themselves within the image.”