The Society of Spectacle La société du spectacle (1967) by French philosopher Guy Debord examines our obsession with the image. In it he talks about image-saturated consumer culture, referred to as the “Spectacle,” Debord’s term for the everyday manifestation of capitalist-driven phenomena; advertising, television, film, and celebrity.
With this in mind I started taking photos shoots to re examine our perhaps problematic but also joyous relationship with ‘ the image’ and spectacle.
When it feels like your body and how you’re perceived is something you don’t have any control over – be that because of race, age, sexuality, or gender, maybe the most powerful thing you can do is reclaim it / your image as your own on your own terms.
There used to be someone I knew who took lots of pictures of me. Sometimes they would post them online. A lot of the time I didn’t really like them as I didn’t think the pictures they took of me really looked like me, or at least perhaps who I thought I was, but I didn’t feel I could say that at the time.
As time went on I started doing little photo shoots as a way of healing really, as a way of reclaiming myself I suppose.
This reclaiming happened all over again during lockdown, when without the pressures of society, or peers, or a partner, I got to ask myself in isolation – who am I? Who would I want to be if no one was looking. This is when I started thinking about the possibilities of being happy and medically transitioning.
When I first started taking pictures I assumed they were for when no one was looking, but mostly they ended up being for everyone who ever questioned, felt differently and was afraid to express themselves.
Who would we be if we saw people like us on the cover of magazines? Would be we empowered? Would be be reminded of our own greatness? Would we remember to celebrate ourselves?
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