Art & culture
Gillian Wearing’s reconstructed teenage self-portrait
Wearing used a family photograph as the basis for a larger portrait made decades later.
Gillian Wearing’s Self-Portrait at 17 Years Old combines photography with impersonation and time. The adult artist appears as a younger version of herself, using make-up and performance to reconstruct an image from her past. The work raises questions about memory and photographic evidence.
A portrait across decades
MoMA records the work as a 2003 chromogenic print. Its title refers to the age and identity being reconstructed, not the date the final photograph was made. That distinction matters: the image is a contemporary artwork shaped by an earlier photograph and the artist’s present-day interpretation.
Evidence: Wikipedia article · Museum / collection / artist record
Memory is staged
The reconstruction makes the gap between past and present visible. A photograph may look like direct proof of an earlier self, yet here it is also a performance built from recollection, archive and technique. Wearing’s work encourages viewers to ask how family pictures shape the stories people tell about who they were.
Evidence: Museum / collection / artist record · Wikipedia article
Keep the dates distinct
Captions should identify both the work’s production date and the earlier period represented in its title. That practice prevents a staged re-creation from being mistaken for an original childhood photograph. A booth strip records one short sitting; Wearing’s image collapses different moments into a deliberate artistic construction.
Evidence: Museum / collection / artist record
Sources & further reading
Sources for the specific facts and product descriptions above. Our worked examples, interpretations and practical suggestions are original editorial guidance.
- Wikipedia: Gillian WearingWikipedia article
- Hist Moma WearingMuseum / collection / artist record