Honorable Mention TIFA 2023 People / Self-Portrait

Birthday Girl

  • Photographer
    Vicky Hodgson
  • Photo Date
    January 2023

The inspiration for Birthday Girl is a photograph from Vicky Hodgson’s family album. In this image, taken when she was eight, she poses against a bed of roses in her party dress, wearing a large bow in her hair. She looks the epitome of femininity but stands awkwardly with her hands clasped in front of her body. Birthday Girl presents a performance that rebels against this representation of femininity as Hodgson is portrayed with vivid blue hair and eyebrows and shows her disgust at wearing a bow in her hair. Rebelling further she lights up and proceeds to smoke a cigarette.