Following a lecture from Kate Newton our task is to choose, research and discuss a photographer who explores identity/gender/sexuality in their practice…
Asa Johannesson is a Swedish photographer and senior lecturer in Photography with The School of Art and Media at Brighton University. I decided on them as an attempt to talk about someone I had not heard of before.
Their work focuses on nonbinary gender identity and Its photographic representation. Johannesson draws on historical images from their tomboy youth and having a twin sister for The work ‘All Same, All Different’ which was produced at a time when seemingly and worryingly racism and xenophobia appeared to be on the rise in Sweden.
Johannesson uses his own identity as a non-identical twin in the photographs [of what appears to be them and their twin sister] and describes it as a “starting point for a suggestion of humanity as unmeasurable -and in the context of the paradoxical role of the photograph as a visual marker of recognition” I can see that although the photographic content of the two images is similar, they are in fact different individuals. This re-enforces the knowledge that although things can look the same in a photographic image, these photographs are large frame black and white film, same subject pose, same clothing, same plain background, and similar facial features, the two subjects [although possibly related] are in fact completely unique.
The pictorial strategies used: In ‘The Queering of Photography’ images are large frame photographs, mainly monochrome or simply grey/black/white colour, the subjects have similar pose, either facing the camera or a slight sideways stance whilst still looking at the camera. Some are simply a back of the head shot. Each subject is wearing a plain top and the background is a plain grey finely woven fabric or a white sheet.
Why are they producing their images: The project is described as ‘exploring the complex relationship between queer identity and photographic representation’. I am not fond of the term ‘queer’, coming from an age when it was used in a derogatory manner however, I realise in the 21st century it has been reclaimed and is used as a term that steps away from traditional assumptions about gender and sexual identities. I digress! I can see that the images are meant to be similar in pose or stance and the use of monochrome and plain clothing may leave the viewer to explore the gender/sexuality of the subjects rather than be detracted by their surroundings.
These are useful strategies allowing the viewer to focus entirely on the subject to question their being and have been used by other photographers both Richard Avedon and Nadav Kander have produced similarly styled images for this purpose.
I feel that Johannesson has produced the works in a way that we can discuss the subjects without labels. We are got given any hint of their position or status in the world, the images do not focus on ethnicity or race, they simply project the individual for the viewer to admire or discuss at will. The title of the work ‘The Queering of Photography’ perhaps suggests that the subjects identify with other genders/sexuality than the images themselves infer, but that is probably something for the viewer to contemplate?
From the photographic work of Johannesson that I’ve observed, I feel they are forcing us to question the content in a certain way because of the title. The images are plain, well-lit and pleasing to look at but in my view remain ambiguous without the title.