Selfie (September)

Pensive, enquiring, elated, grotesque, perseverant, moody, alone. I turn pages of self-portraits of Rembrandt van Rijn, wondering what the Dutchman sees today in his mirror. Consciousness registers change. Selfie itself (September 2002) was first recorded by an Australian. Nathan Hope, drunk at a party, apologised for the focus. Later he denied coining selfie, saying it was common slang. Partying, tripped, smashed, toothless, bleary, proven, alone. More Hope than Rembrandt, selves feature in their own movies, still-lifes on the run, leaning with the Tower of Pisa. They frame themselves for micro-eternity, photo-bombed by sunlight: Button-holed, landmarked, postcarded, earthbound, tricky, clicky, alone.