Now–Body

In Now–Body I use mirrors to distort images of my body, captured without digital retouching or AI. It creates glitch-like effects challenging conventional perceptions of form and identity, inviting exploration of the fluidity of corporeal boundaries.

Now–Body is a project picturing my body and its distorted reflections. By doubling and abstracting my form, I play with the perceptual mechanism viewers use to understand their own bodies, prompting them to question its definitions and limits. 

This project is inspired by Paul B. Preciado's theories, about queer corporeal experiences. My images respond to their idea that we can transform, modify or represent our bodies to hack the visual codes that predetermine gender and the binary code we were taught. In return, my work subverts the traditional role of photography in duplicating a subject, as mirrors do. However, instead of an exact equivalent, I am presenting a modification. This modification is not a digital post-production effect or the result of artificial intelligence technologies but a distorted image captured through the lens. 

The images in the series Now–Body are constructed using  large curved sheets of  acrylic mirrors in place of the traditional seamless white backdrop often found in photographic portrait studios. These photographic explorations produce abstract shapes of a body––as abstract as the concept of the body itself is in the contemporary discussions––intertwined with artifacts and elements that simulate a digital photography glitch. I found this glitch effect to be a way to talk about my own body (and maybe the body more generally)  and the digital world that rules how photography is being used for self representation and visual consumption.