Nigel Ip

Some of you may not know this, but I did my BA dissertation in 2014-15 on selfies and self-portraiture in an attempt to understand this seemingly age-old phenomenon that suddenly boomed on social media in the 2010s.

Seeing Drea Cofield’s current solo exhibition Soft Exchanges at Soho Revue gave me flashbacks. The small paintings on display grew out of her Send Me Your Selfies project, a much larger project begun in 2012 in which she used selfies submitted by consenting adults as the basis for her paintings. To clarify, men and women are represented in the main project, however, this exhibition appears to be specifically female-focused.

While simple as a concept, the implications are broad and empowering. These are not just any selfies floating around the internet for all to see. They were photographed by the female subjects and voluntarily offered to be scrutinised by Cofield. In doing so, there is a reclamation of bodily autonomy, female agency, and power that the traditional male gaze denies.

As my dissertation revealed, the medium of the selfie and its distribution channels on social media activates a rapid feedback loop that prevents any opportunities for slow reflection by the subject and/or their audience. Cofield’s translation of the selfies into physical paint and texture gives that opportunity back to the sitter. Images that would appear sexualising in their photographic states can now be evaluated on different aesthetic planes.

I was pleasantly surprised by this exhibition. But crucially, I wish I knew Cofield’s project existed when I was writing my dissertation. It would have offered amazing nuance to the discussion, one that continues to gain relevance as women’s rights and bodily autonomy continue to be debated, attacked, and sacrificed like bargaining chips in a patriarchal poker game.

Soft Exchanges: Drea Cofield (17 September – 31 October 2025) is at Soho Revue, London, https://www.sohorevue.com/