Donna Lynch // Self-Portraits
Donna Lynch // Ego Likeness
Donna Lynch is the co-founder, co-writer, and singer of the musical project Ego Likeness. Their album When the Wolves Return is described as "the product of pain felt and caused. Of suffering and loss and chaos and desperation. It is a confessional; it is words and sounds that have come from fighting back, and from the growth to understand that the Wolves are still out there. The album is beautiful and it is at times heart shattering. It is also a glorious testament to survival and strength." Click below to play the music video for the title track, "When The Wolves Return."
[Video Description: Donna Lynch stands alone in a dimly-lit room. A spotlight, reminiscent of search lights, cycles across her face. Her shoulders and head remain in-frame for the duration of the video. Her breath is almost visible in the cold air as she sings: I confess / My crimes of hopelessness / And excess / You should know / That out there in the dark / This terrible girl / Was torn apart / I don't want pity / That would make it all about me / There's nothing to forgive / It's the price you pay to live... / Take these lessons / Make them count / Make it worth the pain you felt / Before your time runs out / Take these lessons / Make them count / Make it worth the pain you dealt / Before your time runs out / When the lights go out / All you'll have is what you felt / When the sky goes dark / They're gonna leave a mark / When the wolves return / All you'll have is what you learned / When the wolves return... / Then the wolves returned / And all I had was what I learned / Then the wolves returned...]
Artist Statement: self-portraits
After being briefly hospitalized in December of 2016 for a bipolar episode, I found myself with very little to do as the dust settled. At least, on the outside. I began taking selfies in order to play with a new photo app on my phone to pass the time, and soon began challenging myself to make each one as different as possible, and as close to portraits as I could manage with simple, ubiquitous tools.
A couple weeks into the project, my therapist began asking me questions about how I saw myself in the photos. My answers were mostly along the lines of "I am a ghost in this one", "I am a void", "I am a monster here". At her suggestion, I began searching for other facets of myself in the images, and attempted to capture them in later photos. Equal parts an exercise in vanity, composition, and self-discovery.
About the Artist
Donna Lynch is the co-founder and singer of the dark rock band, Ego Likeness, and a horror/ dark fiction novelist and poet. Her experiences with mental and chronic illness are regularly represented in her work. She lives in Maryland with her partner, artist and musician Steven Archer.
Music: http://egolikeness.com
Books: http://rawdogscreaming.com/authors/donna-lynch