Artist Statement

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Das Selbstvergessene. Das Selbsterkannte (The Self-Forgotten. The Self-Recognised) (2026) is one of the works in Ununterwürfig 2027, a feminist art calendar that brings together 13 contemporary artistic positions in dialogue with feminist artists and writers of the past. The artist I chose to respond to was Vivian Maier (1926–2009), whose extensive body of work includes a remarkable number of self-portraits photographed through mirrors on the streets. Her work only became known to the wider public after her death.

 

Das Selbstvergessene. Das Selbsterkannte is itself a self-portrait made in front of a mirror. Yet there is not simply one mirror, but several mirrors facing one another. Through their reflections from different angles, I suddenly saw my own figure moving behind me, especially my back. I was surprised by the sight, but also deeply drawn to it. Because under ordinary circumstances, it is impossible to see your back while moving. Paradoxically, this reflected figure felt both intimately familiar and strangely unfamiliar.

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It was as if a forgotten self had suddenly reappeared. Yet perhaps it had never disappeared, only fallen outside my view. Through the mirrors, I recognised the self I had forgotten.

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This sensation resonates with my own circumstances. During the profound changes my life has undergone in recent years, there have been moments when I have felt lost or distanced from a sense of who I am. Seeing myself still vividly present within a space became a reminder that I am still here—that I am still alive, and that the person I recognise as myself has not disappeared.

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In this sense, the work also connects with the title of the calendar, Ununterwürfig (Unsubmissive). It becomes an awareness of the need to return to an authentic self whom I used to be: one that does not blindly submit to authority, but remains independent, dignified, and unwilling to simply follow the prevailing current.

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We may never know what truly motivated Maier to photograph her reflections, nor did I begin making mirror self-portraits because of her work; I had already been photographing myself in mirrors for many years before her photographs became publicly known. Yet her work opens a dialogue across time: her images suggest concealment and anonymity, while mine seek to reclaim personal autonomy amid profound change. In both, encountering a self that is at once familiar and unfamiliar opens questions of identity that may be more significant than the image itself.​​

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Wai Kit Lam
9.2026
London, United Kingdom​

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