Lassnig was ahead of her time when it came to portraiture. She painted many self-portraits and coined the term ‘body consciousness,’ as she would often only paint the parts that her body that she felt, leaving all else blank, including the hair because hair is already dead. In this self-portrait she confronts us while pointing two guns: one at us and the other at her own head. She is forcing us to choose. Will she shoot one of those guns if we come any closer to the canvas? And which one will it be?
