If you’re ever bored in an airplane bathroom, you should recreate vintage Flemish portraits, because travel doesn’t have to be boring.
I am not the kind of person that totally hates airplane bathrooms, but I do always try to do my business and get out before I get sucked through the sewage hole. Traveling is often a time of reflection for me though, but I have never reflected as hard as Nina Katchadourian, who decided to spend her restroom time taking selfies in the style of 15th century Flemish portraits.
Her series is called ‘Lavatory self-portraits in the Flemish Style’, and is part of a larger project called ‘Seat Assignment’ where she takes improvised photos using whatever materials she has on hand while on long flights.
She says:
“While in the lavatory on a domestic flight in March 2010, I spontaneously put a tissue paper toilet cover seat cover over my head and took a picture in the mirror using my cellphone. The image evoked 15th-century Flemish portraiture. <…> I made several forays to the bathroom from my aisle seat, and by the time we landed I had a large group of new photographs entitled Lavatory Self-Portraits in the Flemish Style. I was wearing a thin black scarf that I sometimes hung up on the wall behind me to create the deep black ground that is typical of these portraits.”
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The next time I find myself bored on a flight, maybe I will try something like this, although I doubt I will be able to recreate the sad, lonely look in her eyes, so reminiscent of the 15th century when everything totally sucked, and you were lucky if you lived into your thirties.
