Simon Annand    The Camera and the Self since 1839    

Since the invention of photography in 1822, the way we see ourselves in front of a camera has changed. A cool detachment in the 19thC has become the grinning Selfie, a very different expression. How has this happened? Has the quality of life changed so much that we wish to show our gratitude? Or has our sense of Self fundamentally changed?

Simon Annand has photographed the London theatre for over 40 years. He is a pioneer of “behind the scenes” and his work has been published in 2 volumes by Faber and Lannoo. The V&A has exhibited The Half series of dressing-room images in London, Paris, New York, Berlin, Beijing and Moscow (2014). Currently he has 5 images in the exhibition “Narcissus – The Mirror in Photography” at the Caracalla Baths in Rome.