Delicate Portraiture

Delicate Portraiture

Patty Maher is an internationally recognised fine art photographer based in Ontario, Canada. Working primarily in staged self-portraiture, Maher is widely known for obscuring the faces of her subjects, often using posture, gesture, symbol and colour to convey emotion and narrative. Each image is an exploration of the inner worlds that exist within characters’ psyches, considering the boundaries of identity and the relationship of the individual with the wider world. Traversing the surreal and the commonplace, each story touches on basic yet universal psychological states, inviting the viewer to be a co-creator in the fabrication of meaning. Images from The Quiet Storm and And Then You Just Let Go are examples of this, utilising a rich, earthy palette softened by a foreboding grey sky and open grasslands. Although the figures are transfixed by the all-encompassing atmosphere, there are individual journeys to be found. www.pattymaher.com.