Judith Black

Judith Black’s self-portraiture offers an honest, grounded, and deeply human exploration of aging, domestic life, and personal identity. Known for her series Pleasant Street, Black turns the lens inward—not with fantasy or illusion, but with raw, unflinching truth. Her images often feature herself in the ordinary spaces of her home, surrounded by the chaos and tenderness of raising four children as a single mother. These photographs serve as both a diary and a mirror, capturing moments of exhaustion, affection, solitude, and resilience. What makes Black’s work compelling is the intimacy she creates through her direct gaze and the quiet acceptance of imperfection. Unlike more polished or stylized self-portraits, her work embraces the everyday—wrinkles, mess, quiet gestures—and in doing so, finds beauty and meaning in what is often overlooked. Her photographs do not seek to idealize but to document life as it is, making space for vulnerability and presence. Inspired by Judith Black, I hope to create self-images that reflect moments of stillness, honesty, and emotional texture—portraits that don’t shy away from the ordinary, but instead, find narrative within it.