Born into the first postwar generation in Japan, Madoka Takagi graduated from art school with a focus on printmaking and soon turned to photography. Her fascination with the material aspects of printmaking is evident in the delicate, silvery platinum prints she made by brushing paper with a solution of platinum-based light-sensitive salts. This double portrait is part of an extensive series of self-portraits she staged with friends and acquaintances in New York, where she was ensconced within a vibrant and eclectic 1980s art scene.