Claude Cahun was a Surrealist photographer whose work explored gender identity and the subconscious mind. The artist’s self-portrait from 1928 epitomizes her attitude and style, as she stares rebelliously at the camera in an outfit that looks neither conventionally masculine nor feminine. with her photography one of her many skins is gender-defying as she gives this photograph a very neutral look that leaves to question ‘What is this persons gender?’ this was one of the many question that were going through my head when I first saw this photograph. I think she is trying to show us and tell us that it really should not matter what gender she identifies as because she is still going to be this quirky photographer from jersey and her gender does not identify her. She is the main focus point in this image which is quite symmetrical is a way as she has a heart on both sides of her check and her hair is styled the same and gives it an even more symmetrical look. I am pretty sure this image has been taken in the studio as she is sat on a chair with what looks to be a curtain for a backdrop.

Claude Cahun’s photographic self-portraits present mix of mystery, exuberance, and sobriety. Born in France, she lived most of her life on the island of Jersey with her stepsister and long-term love, Marcel Moore.

Themes of melancholy, futility, and uncertainty run deep through Cahun’s career. Cahun’s exploration of self is relentless and at times unsettling. From circus performer, clothed in layers of artifice, to a stripped-down Buddhist monk grounded by integrity, Cahun is engaged in an ongoing dialogue with abundance.