Aesthetic Distance ©2015
Aesthetic Distance is a photographic exploration of desire and the sense of self and it features a series of performed photographic self-portraits.
Here the desire is understood as a medium of psychological expression through which I observe social and cultural meanings as much as criticise ideas endorsed by the stereotypical representation of them. At that time, as I entered my forties as a single woman, I failed to attain certain outcomes that would have met the expectations I and tradition carried for me. Motivated by my state of mind, interplay of longing and alienation, I performed to the lens to confront my emotional response rather than portraying it literally. Drawing on the emotional conflict aroused by the divergence of reality that exists from that which has been desired, I used performance as a strategy to reflect on my childhood-to-adulthood experiences. The theme is clearly associated with my intimate life, but its depiction possesses elements that allow for different layers of interpretation. At times the role-playing attitude disturbs gender based social positions, shifts between assertiveness and vulnerability, and touches on themes of authenticity and identity, in a manner that provokes but does not denounce. Creating multiple connotations within each image to leave a sense of confusion was my intention as I demand from the viewers to defy culturally assigned conceptions. This is even more pronounced by the confrontational gaze that seeks to bring the power and constraints of the framework of beliefs within which we live to thier attention.
This project developed from my interest in self-portraiture and has begun my exploration of the link between artistic execution and the liberating emotional discharge.
