Self-Portrait Competition

Andy Warhol - Self-Portrait (1986)

The Quiet Front is the idea that you you need to fight for your personal freedom in general and your creative freedom in particular. You need to fight against the rising tide of conformity and mediocrity.

This freedom is embodied in self expression.

The Quiet Front has now built up a modest but encouraging audience but, at the moment, I really only understand that audience as the list of numbers I get on my stats. I am not good with numbers - it's just not how I understand the world. I want to know who is out there and more importantly, I want to know what creative force lies behind all of those people.

I am running a self-portrait competition. My two favorite entries will each receive a signed, limited-edition Billy Kidd print.

     

The rules for the competition are very simple:

  1. I hate fucking rules.

You can use whatever medium you want. No bonus points for expensive gear (a cellphone camera is fine); bonus points for pencils, pin-hole cameras or any other process that requires a lot of craft.

I really have no idea how I'm going to choose who gets the prints -  I'm just going to go with my intuition. I'm not easily swayed by "production values". In Africa there is this idea that something that is true to its own nature is beautiful so your self-portrait can be bold or delicate; sexy or austere; clever or somatic -  as long as it's a reflection of who you are.

Competition entries close on Saturday 16 June.

You can send your submissions to - thequietfront@gmail.com. You can send files directly or you can send me links to things posted on your personal site, instagram, youtube etc.

If you have any questions, please feel free to ask.

I will post a shortlist of my favorite entrants and a few days later I'll announce the winners of the prints.

IMPORTANT NOTES:

  1. On Nudity: Nudity is not a requirement of this competition. Please do not make this inference from the content of The Quiet Front. This is an exercise in self-expression and as such you should present yourself in any way you feel, regardless of the broader context of this site.
  2. On Identity / Anonymity: Some people may find it inconvenient to be associated with this site for work or social reasons. This is a perfectly understandable position. This does not preclude you from entering this competition if you take precautions not to reveal your identity. This can be done with how your self-portrait is composed (e.g. you can hide your identity in shadows / masks / veils, you can submit a blind contour drawing or create something completely conceptual). Sometimes the things that you conceal are part of who you are.
  3. On Attribution: For the shortlisted work that I publish on The Quiet Front, I will include a credit and link to any one personal site that you would like me to link to (a personal site, tumblr, facebook or twitter etc.) If you do wish to remain anonymous please make that clear in your submission and I will be careful not to include any public attribution.

One last thing, just to fuck with you:

Barbara Kruger - You Are Not Yourself (1984)