Reflets à Soi by Angélique Boissière
Angélique Boissière is a talented film photographer whose previous work focused on environmental portraiture of women, both indoors and outdoors. Reflets à Soi (Reflections of Self) is her third self-published book. I thoroughly enjoyed the first two, but in this one she delivers a much deeper and more intimate experience than what she previously showed. It goes beyond aesthetics and composition to open a window into her soul. I realise how cliché that sounds, but while both of her previous books had underlying themes, Reflets à Soi is exclusively self-portraits in mirrors, a much narrower subset of images and yet one that allows the viewer to grasp her elusive personality a bit better, both through what she chooses to show and to not show. The repetition of a single subject, the photographer herself, creates patterns in the viewing experience that helped me notice certain things about her work and herself that I think shine through in the book as a whole. It takes a great courage to strip oneself down in such a way, both figuratively and (occasionally) literally. Even with images as beautiful as these are, Angélique lets some of herself shine through in a way that I found very moving. The book manages to bring together impeccable formalism and emotional depth, not your every day fare. Stunning and highly recommended.
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