Mark Morrisroe's Self-Portraits and Jacques Derrida's ‘Ruin’

Abstract

The work of the American photographer Mark Morrisroe (1959–1989) has been the object of a recent resurgence of interest. Morrisroe's work might be said to constitute an extended practice of self-portraiture, from the early images documenting his involvement in the 1980s Boston punk scene to his final works exploring the effects of AIDS on his body. This article brings together Morrisroe's photographic practice of self-representation with Jacques Derrida's reading of the self-portrait as ‘ruin’. It outlines the moral, physical and aesthetic implications of ‘ruin’ in relation to Morrisroe's work, and explores the way in which both Morrisroe's images and Derrida's text evoke the physical deterioration of the body. It then suggests ways in which Derrida's ruin fulfils a similar function to the notion of performativity or masquerade, raising questions about issues of identity, authenticity and the possibility of self-representation.