THE SELF-REPRESENTATION OF WOMEN AS A PHOTOGRAPHIC PRACTICE: A VISUAL ETHNOGRAPHY OF THE CONTEMPORARY SCENE IN MACEIÓ/AL
Learning in practice; Self-representation; Photography; Feminisms; Genre
This visual ethnography was born from the research experience with the photographic self-representations of women in the contemporary scene in Maceió, Alagoas. Motivated by the recognition of gender asymmetries in the field of photography, a category in which I am also inserted, I investigated how the self-representations of women produce “fractures” in the dominant photography, characterized by historically operating to the detriment of “women photographers” and “women photographed”. Considering the movement of women who, through individual or collective initiatives, have been contesting the dominant male production, the research took place with Amanda Bambu, Gabi Coêlho, Laryssa Andrade and Natie Paz, photographers who contribute to the recreation of visualities in the local scene, in addition to Punho – Coletivo Alagoano de Mulheres da Imagem, which contributes to thinking about the emerging activism of female photographers in the city of Maceió. Also, in view of the context of facing with the Covid-19 pandemic, I present creative impulses that emerge from the artistic gesture of learning in practice with research partners how to represent myself photographically. In this sense, I sketch an experience in which the boundaries between scientific rationality and emotion, subject and object, art and science are called into question.