Unearthed, soft dandelions and their starry insides hover before him, within him, 2022, inkjet fine art archival print on Canson Rag Photographique, 46.5 x 29.3cm $600 (image/sheet) / 49 x 31.5cm $800 (framed). © Jessye Wdowin-McGregor Offered for sale.

Just done foot-washing. Mouth yawning. Hand, left hand, on myour moustache. For a brief moment before it removed itself. How to delete all myour distinct features as if you were just unearthed, with only dandelions and spirals for company? That’s how the self in the portrait feels, right at this moment, at 21:39:37. 

Or let’s go back to Helene Schjerfbeck.

— Ouyang Yu, ‘Self-Portrait’, 2023

A poem in response to Jessye’s artwork, Unearthed, soft dandelions and their starry insides hover before him, within him, 2022.

A note from the poet:—

The photograph 'Unearthed', to me, is almost like a self-portrait of the artist and helped me write a contemplative prose poem of the same subject, too, on a night when I discovered a Finnish artist by the name of Helene Schjerfbeck, known for her self-portraits throughout her life.

— Ouyang Yu. 2023

Note:—Please visit the exhibition space to read the poem in our book on display. The poems can also be read on a desktop computer or in person here online. However, they should be read on a desktop computer or in-person to ensure the correct layout. A mobile phone is only recommended for reading the additional content.