echo (ongoing)

echo examines relations between self-expression, attribution, and socio-cultural codes within self-portarits. Within a studio set of three synchronized cameras, distinct lines between operator, referent, and spectator dissolve. Roland Barthes' four imaginary dimensions interlink as a reflection of the cis-heterosexual matrix and gendered markers. As a trans body, I am continually navigating internalized as well as projected politics of the gaze. echo examines the role of photography in (de-)constructing traditional identity categories to develop pluralistic views of individual and collective identity. Since its invention in the 19th century, photography has played a significant role not only as a technical medium but also as a cultural tool in the construction and representation of identity. It serves not only to document individual existences but has historically also contributed to the consolidation of social hierarchies and power structures. In particular, portrait photography established tools for exclusionary practices and actively contributed to the construction of normative social frameworks. echo is works as a critical analysis of these cultural constructions and dynamics between self- and outside perception. Barthes describes the photographic portrait as a „closed field of forces“, in which four elements operate: the self-/desired image, the external image, and the craft. This interplay makes the portrait a complex and dynamic object, reflecting both the subject's identity as well as the perceptions of the photographer and viewers. echo shifts and expands this closed field of forces, examining the images as cultural signs.