Cindy Sherman was the selfie pioneer – we could learn a lot from her originality

Cindy Sherman is one of the most enigmatic visual artists working today. Her major show at London’s National Portrait Gallery confirms her status as queen of the selfie.

At the exhibition opening, people were wandering around, trying to work out which one of the several hundred people present was the artist herself (her true identity has always been utterly submerged in her work).

Sherman has spent her life masquerading as other people. Long before Instagram and airbrushing, Sherman was using costumes, wigs and clever make-up to transform herself into a huge range of characters, turning them into great art which cleverly commented on modern life. She has played at being a movie star in black and white, a society dame, a sexually ambivalent teenager and a beggar.

Instead of writing novels or screenplays, Sherman offers us images of herself starring in her latest melodrama, from murder mysteries to ultra-kinky porno movies. Selfies are all about what’s on the surface, but Sherman’s work (like the best Renaissance paintings) is packed with hidden symbols. Her characters can be poignant or pitiful, their gaze impervious to what we think.

This week, selfie Queen Kim Kardashian has launched a new underwear brand that has been accused of cultural appropriation – she should have asked Sherman to style the campaign.