Quincie Douglas Library invites you to an exhibit by local artist Nancy Jacques, on display until May 30, 2026.
Artist Statement:
Why Paint a Selfie?
“See me, I’m you” is a series of paintings developed from asking friends and their friends to send me Selfies. I then painted selected images as 24"x24" portraits in oil.
Why would I want to formalize a digital, disposable medium?
Because Selfies are taken universally. They are egalitarian. Selfies are honest. Each of us is in command of lighting, mood and what we want to remember or share.
My intention is to play off the history of oil portraiture being part of the lives of the privileged. And even more fun, unlike the stiff formality of traditional portraiture, Selfies can distort our faces via the perspective and angles we use to take them.
Here, instead of standing apart, we stand together in all the formality of oil tradition. All 14 paintings are 24x24” oil.
Through social media, I invite other artists to join me in this project. Let us exhibit portraits all in a shared venue physically, in communities, and online.
Truly, why possess biases when looking back at ourselves?
Images courtesy of the artist
