I am a Monster: The Malleable and the Indeterminate in Contemporary Female Self-Portraiture

This paper looks at the work of Janine Antoni, Catherine Opie, and Jenny Saville by way of their relationships to both the monstrous and the indefinite. Freud’s uncanny is addressed with regards to the self-portrait as a double or multiple. Similarly, acts that traverse the boundaries of the body are shown to be considerable threats to the idea of a solid, integral self. Elements of each artist’s work are studied specifically for their monstrous/grotesque quality in an attempt to better understand the power and impetus behind each piece.