Animal Selfie

Framed by trees and bushes, the deer in Animal Selfie is barely visible; it is only on closer inspection that features begin to appear as the deer turns to face the viewer and, in so doing, becomes exposed and vulnerable. The title evokes the vanity of a "selfie," that is a photograph one takes of oneself documenting experiences ranging from the noteworthy (such as a trip to a tourist site or a visit with friends and family) to the quotidian (eating meals, walking, shopping etc.) that is then frequently shared through social media, yet renders it absurd by projecting narcissism and technological skills onto the animal. At the same time, the image evokes acts of surveillance and the threat of danger (particularly as the image was captured by a hidden hunting camera), as the deer appears extremely vulnerable, frozen with fear in the crosshairs. The camera’s ability to function both as an agent of narcissism and violence interrupts the harmonious tones and the bucolic sensation of the landscape image, which, on first inspection, evokes the tradition of the Hudson Valley artists and other figures who engaged the landscape. The print is a pyrogravure, that is, a unique work made from burning the image into wood and then transferring the charred residue of carbon and burned resin to paper to create an inkless image, a technique Baldridge explored for the Animal Selfie series.