Sara Lucas’ Self-Portraits: a Shift from Confrontation to Vulnerability

The Evolution of Lucas’ Self-Portrait Photography

Lucas has implemented self-portrait photography into her works since the 1990s and emerged into the art field in her thirties. She likes to challenge gender roles and uses cigarettes as a rebel accessory. Lucas has created several works, such as Human Toilet Revisited, depicting her in various states, such as a man or naked covered with a toilet tank. She utilizes realism, and her works usually incorporate metaphors, puns, or humor. Nan Goldin was one of Lucas’ influencers in this approach to art and photography.

A Deep Dive Into a Specific Portrait

Lucas created a digital print of herself in a dilapidated bathroom when she was thirty-seven. She depicts herself sitting naked, save for a grey t-shirt, on a toilet in a loose fetal position. The viewer can see her whole body but only her left side. Her forearms are crossed over her knees, her right hand holding a lighted cigarette a fourth of the way smoked. Her dark hair is short and disheveled; it does not look washed. Lucas’ eyes are downcast, and he is looking at the dark-colored tile floor of the bathroom. She appears to be pensive in this gaze, almost lost in thought. Her face is exposed to the viewer, but it is almost indistinguishable from any expression besides her contemplating something or not thinking of anything.

This photograph was taken above her, looking down at the subject at an angle as if you were standing beside her and happened to look at her while in thought. Light seems to be shining down on her legs, making them stark white in some places, from the left of this self-portrait, casting her face in a shaded yellow hue. This portrait is open because the back of the toilet tank exceeds the corner, and you can tell you are in a three-dimensional space. The light distorts the image in the bottom corners, thus making Lucas the center point of this photograph.

This photograph is taken with her in a bathroom corner with the toilet close to the walls on the right side of the portrait. In the background is a white wall with a thick painted white trim at the bottom. The wall behind her knees is exposed, showing insulation, piping, and wood support. The toilet she is sitting on has a black tank and seat facing towards the portrait’s left side. The rest of the toilet is of white porcelain and is older in style, probably from the mid-1900s. By the piping of the toilet, there are what appears to be three bottles of cleaning supplies with what appears to be a woman on the face of the middle bottle. On the dark-colored square tile in the bottom right corner, there are two boxes with indistinguishable text due to the unfocused camera.

These elements all work together by showing her in a naturalistic environment. This setting suggests that she is in a rundown apartment or home and is probably a lower middle class or lower class. There are no decorations, and the toilet is not of the period. The cleaning supplies are exposed and not put in a cabinet where a higher class would try to conceal them. This work of art emphasizes showing herself in a natural state where her family or partner may see her.

Lucas’ Artistic Themes and Props

Lucas’ work usually depicts provocative work, including sexual punning, confronting gender roles, stereotyping, and obsessive behaviors. She is not afraid to stand up and make a statement about what she thinks is right or wrong. Through her artwork, she defends people and groups by making society think about their perverse behavior. Using everyday objects such as eggs or random furniture, she challenges social norms through these works.

The eggs symbolize women’s breasts or eyes. She is particularly fond of this prop and compares the yellow splats to female ejaculation. Some more of her favorite props for her photographs are cigarettes and vegetables, usually used to depict phallic and sexual innuendoes. Some of her recent works utilize pantyhose filled with fluffy or squishy material.

Her self-portraits are usually confrontational, and she establishes eye contact with the viewer. She is not shown straight on or spread eagle as in some of her other works but instead is viewed from the side with her legs curled close to her body.

Vulnerability in Lucas’ Self-Portraits

In her other works, she also uses cigarettes to depict the relationship between smoking and sexual activity, which is interesting because there is nothing sexual noted in this portrait besides maybe her bottom half being uncovered. Maybe she has just had an intimate encounter with her partner, which is why the viewer can see her in this state. It is almost as if she is allowing this because she feels like we are her intimate partner, and the viewpoint is that of the partner watching her smoke through his or her eyes.

In this self-portrait, Lucas has not yet put up that defensive wall to her viewers that you commonly see with her other ones, such as her “Self Portrait with Fried Eggs.” She is not challenging anything or anyone in this work. This work is a candid shot of Lucas and shows her more vulnerable. The artist portrayed herself like this to show her viewers that she is vulnerable, just like the people for whom she takes an artistic stand. She is taking time to think to herself and to have a smoke.

In conclusion, Sara Lucas is a confrontational artist; however, in this self-portrait, she is depicted as vulnerable, unlike any other works she has created. She uses her body, position, and camera angle to depict this intimate photograph. She is pensive and lost in thought, and her viewers feel a connection to her.

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