Dawn wins selfie contest without taking selfie

Published: 1 April 2017 at 11:32

Photography Lecturer impresses judges with non-traditional self-portrait

We are delighted to announce that photography lecturer Dawn Woolley has been named winner of the Saatchi Selfie competition by a panel of judges including Tracey Emin and Saatchi Gallery chief executive Nigel Hurst.

Rather than a conventional selfie, Dawn’s entry to the contest showed a two-dimensional image of herself being held by a man.

Dawn explained:

“In the work I create a photographic copy of myself and place it in the real world instead of me.

“By creating artwork that establishes me as an object it could be argued that I produce photographs that reinforce stereotypical images of the female body, but with apparent exhibitionism I create a substitute that renders my real body invisible.”

As part of her prize, Dawn will take part in an international photoshoot assignment with a Leica photography ambassador.

You can see Dawn’s winning photo, along with all 14,000 other entrants, at the exhibition From Selfie To Self-Expression at the Saatchi Gallery, London until 30 May 2017.

Find out more about Dawn’s work on her website.

Image: Dawn takes a selfie in front of the other submissions