ABSTRACT
This chapter considers the portrait through the categories of the honorific and the subjugated portrait alongside writings on subjectivity to demonstrate how particular kinds of ‘self’ are constructed through these categories. Grace by Eileen Perrier is a series of twelve colour photographs. The images are all head-and-shoulders portraits taken in a studio with a neutral blue background and soft, flattering lighting. Historically, portraiture was a privilege that belonged to the few who could afford to commission a painted likeness. In order to better understand the subject-effects of the photographic portrait, one needs to turn to the writings of the philosopher and historian Michel Foucault. The smile is not commonly found in any of the types of portraiture. However, it is a common feature of vernacular photography. In the Middle Ages a gap tooth was regarded as a sign of a strongly sexed nature.
