Daily: A self-portrait a day for a year. 2004-2005.
Photographer Anna Newell came up with the idea for Daily: A self-portrait a day for a year while teaching a group of middle-school-aged girls at the non-profit Platteforum in lower downtown Denver. “Something that continuously came up was how each girl saw themselves,” Newell says. “I was thinking about what I thought when I was that age (about myself) and how it hasn’t changed much.” Realizing she was still like those girls in some ways– uncertain one moment, courageous the next– Newell decided to delve deeper. “The idea came from a desperate desire to see who I really am.”
Three hundred and sixty-five portraits later, Newell is unveiling her journey of self-exploration. The photographs are funny and sad and everything in between, yet always unflinching. Still, having a year of her life on display has left Newell feeling vulnerable and exposed: “I want to wear a paper bag on my head to the opening,” she jokes. But the show must go on, because she feels it’s important for people to see the big picture. “It may be my face,” she says, “but it is a reflection of how people feel and are.” Written by Adam Cayton-Holland.
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