Organisers of the forthcoming show From Selfie to Self-Expression at the Saatchi Gallery in London this spring (31 March-30 May) stress that this will be “the world’s first exhibition exploring the history of the selfie from the old masters to the present day”. The show, held in partnership with the mobile phone brand Huawei, will include works by masters of self-portraiture such as Cindy Sherman, Van Gogh, Tracey Emin and Gavin Turk. People who love taking photos of themselves can even enter a selfie competition, entitled #SaatchiSelfie (a live feed of submissions will be broadcast on a giant digital screen erected at the gallery). The show is the latest in a long line of exhibitions that look at the “art of the self”. Indeed, how artists have depicted themselves was the focus of Facing the World: Self-portraits Rembrandt to Ai Weiwei at the Scottish National Portrait Gallery last year.
