Picture This: Agency
Godification of Intimacy' © Alexandra Von Fuerst.
Source:Picture This: Agency
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Explore more articles from the Power & Empowerment collection, currently in focus across 1854 & British Journal of Photography.
Yurie Nagashima, Alexandra Von Fuerst, Robert Darch and others respond to the concept of agency through image and text, as part of our ongoing series Picture This
The ability to choose, to say no, to act up, is a power in itself. Agency over our actions is a human necessity, yet external forces can strip us of the ability to self determine.
It can be difficult to see one’s own agency in the world. Actions can be decided without us, voices can go unheard. When we make decisions, we can choose to listen and give agency to others. Historically in photography the image maker has held the agency, as they are the one who can edit, manipulate, and decide.
Agency can be seen as individuality in motion, yet it is not always a simple path. Once power has been found, we need agency to do something with it. Who do we help? What do we change? What do we maintain? If we are our choices, agency is when we decide who we want to be, as well as who we will become. If agency is free will in action, how free are you?
We asked six photographers to respond to the theme of Agency with image and text. Below, Yurie Nagashima, Tania Franco Klein, Alexandra Von Fuerst, Liza Ambrossio, Tshepiso Moropa and Robert Darch present their responses.
Alexandra Von Fuerst
“I started paying attention to the concept of consent in 2018 while spending some time on holistic studies in Thailand. I participated in a workshop that brought traumas of a patriarchal society and its impact on the human body to the surface. Traumas are often hidden, and memories are unreliable as we forget the origin of the happening in the first place. In that moment, at the age of 25, I found myself properly working through the pain of emotional abuse. I decided to take the experience of healing I had learned, and wanted to communicate it to others and ease their own understanding of repressed sexual anger and pain. Deepening the knowledge on psychological traumas through studies on the eastern teachings on consciousness, I came across the ancient Vedic culture of India expanded by an involvement in the shamanic tradition of Mexico, representing a widely influential starting point to my current series of photographs entitled Godification of Intimacy. The project, shot in Mexico City in 2021, honours the feminine as the hearth of the divine teachings, passed along nature into a universal and day to day experience of awareness. Consent represents the right to own our bodies, as well as the right to express them shamelessly as part of a sensual experience to the divine. The body, expressed in its whole sacrality, is a vehicle of understanding to the outer world. Focusing on the act of asking for permission, it is in my opinion a responsibility to educate society on the choices of a healthy sexual and emotional relationship to the body and its boundaries. A very special thank you goes to the model of the image, Mexican artist and active feminist Effie Villagomez, who allowed me to work with her on this special series.”
