As hard as you can
Colin Mac
- Sitter: Colin Mac
- Medium: Oil on Canvas
- Dimensions: 30 x 30cm
- Representation: This artist represents themselves
About the artwork and sitter
This self portrait is itself a commentary on self portraits. Colin Mac starts from the premise that it’s impossible to see yourself. Then, in this small, but intriguing artwork, he shows two sides of himself, separated by the passing of time and the blink of an eye.
But nothing is exact in the art of self portrayal, as even the dividing line is not straight, or central. “It’s the inability to see what you are about, and also playing with seeing double, as the artist and the sitter.”
Questioning how artists can see and depict themselves, the title further questions intent. Called “As hard as you can”, he explains it’s like a shock to the system, accentuated by the close up framing of the face, and the soft and fluid treatment of the paint.
About the artist
Colin Mac is an award winning illustrator and designer, who’s work has appeared in the Washington Post, the New York Times, the Financial Times, NBC, Vice, and the Big Issue. Now in his third year of a BA in Fine Art at QCA, his emerging, multidisciplinary fine art practice primarily investigates landscape and language.
