Picture Yourself, initiated by Gerry Orkin at public events in Canberra during the summer of 1985, comprises self-portraits made largely by passersby who entered his temporary canvas booth and operated the camera themselves.
The project marked an inward turn for Orkin, whose professional work then centered on Indigenous communities beyond Canberra. He described the series as an "anthropological audit" of his own community, asking participants to answer "who are you?" through a single image. By transferring control of the shutter, pose, and moment of exposure, he sought to depart from photographer-directed documentary practice. This method reflected his concern with the history of Aboriginal people being subjected to photographic and ethnographic scrutiny without control over their representation. It also recorded a rapidly developing capital that Orkin characterized as predominantly white and middle class. Seen before today's selfie culture, the work raises questions about self-presentation, visual ownership, and changing attitudes toward being photographed.
The square, black-and-white photographs show individuals, couples, families, children, street performers, and parade groups facing the camera within a simple three-walled canvas space. The white canvas and floor softened the summer light, while uncropped edges and shadows retained traces of the booth and its outdoor setting. Sitters appear variously composed, playful, formal, or momentarily unprepared. In group portraits, the person holding the release determined the exposure, sometimes catching others between expressions. Hairstyles, sunglasses, short shorts, branded clothing, and printed T-shirts anchor the images in the mid-1980s.
Orkin used film and connected the camera to a long pneumatic shutter release operated by squeezing a rubber bulb. Participants were generally left alone and permitted one exposure. For larger groups, he adjusted the framing to include everyone but left positioning and posing to them. The negatives remained boxed at his home for decades and were rediscovered during the COVID-19 pandemic. Scanning and Photoshop enabled tonal matching that had proved difficult in the darkroom.
In 2022, PhotoAccess presented 74 photographs at Canberra's Huw Davies Gallery. An accompanying A5 book reproduced the exhibition selection from a body of roughly 400 images.
