I thought my self portrait with Mike* icon from yesterday (Self Portrait with Icon #2) was a novel idea.

However, quite a while ago I represented Mike in exactly the same way in a different medium: photography. The context was different. I was experimenting with assuming Mike’s likeness after reading about Jo Spence‘s and Rosy Martin‘s approach to increased self-awareness called reenactment phototherapy.

One of Mike’s distinguishing features the seeming independence of his eyes. They seem to focus on different points in space.

Here is my self portrait from yesterday:

Self Portrait with Icon #2
9″x12″ 140# Cold Pressed Watercolor Block

and here is the photo from my own reenactment, first posted in Photo-Therapy of June 21, 2013:

I am a bit embarrassed by this photograph. It seems disrespectful, but it wasn’t intended so. By the same token, it didn’t accomplish the intended result of a closer understanding of Mike, but I was willing to take the risk for that potential reward.

Not exactly deja vu. I just repeated myself, having forgotten my efforts from years ago.

* Mike is my older brother, now in a geriatric group home, who is autistic, low functioning and has never spoken.