The majority of both Claire Rae and Claude Cahun’s work consist primarily of self portraiture, the main difference between their work is the way in which they incorporate their bodies into the environment. Whereas the composition of Claude Cahun’s work is rather standard for the most part, what makes here unique is the experimentation with gender roles and societal standards by adopting an androgynous appearance and by shaving all her hair including eyebrows and wearing clothes typically worn by men. Claire Rae on the other hand works to explore how her body interacts with her surrounding environments, her work will often have her contorted to fit her surroundings. she is very careful with her choice of clothes in order to insure that She stands out with the environment while maintaining a rather muted appearance. Both artists images are rather similar in terms of general aesthetics, with both artists adopting a rather similar style of photography. It is clear that Claire took inspiration from Claude as seen by the use of rather muted tones throughout the images, often even similarly composing her images.

My personal favorite image of Claire Rae’s work is the image inserted below. I like the composition primarily due to the triadic structure of the image as a whole, including the 3 holes in the wall and the triangular shape formed by Claire Rae. I also like the strong use of contrast in the image. This and the wide range of focus (as well as the lack of grain) suggests the image was taken using a low ISO, paired with a long shutter speed and small aperture.

My favorite image from Claude Cahun’s collection on the other hand cleverly utilizes a double exposure almost creating a feel of a split personality. This image more strongly uses contrast. The grain and time period of the image suggests that it was taken using film. I believe it was taken using high ISO film and a low shutter speed to create strong tonal contrast.I like How the gallery is organised and presented as the spacing between the images allows the pictures to breathe, not overcrowding any walls with images. I believe this was done also to only allow the very best of their work to be displayed to portray the photographers best work better. I do however believe that it would be better to not separate the photographers’ between 2 different rooms as this doesn’t allow viewers to compare and contrast their work under more scrutiny.