Mining an archive of imagery that extends from photographs of Greek statues to early advertising, the project weaves together materials that at once convey and obfuscate meaning. “It came originally from an interest in truthfulness, and what you could learn from someone by examining body language and visual cues,” Lethbridge says. “Gesture became a bit of an obsession, in particular considering how it can be read, or misread.”
Creating much of the project during last year’s lockdown, the work took on new meaning as our modes and means of communication changed drastically. Engaging with others via video calls on our devices, often with an eye on ourselves as much as our interlocutors, the performativity of our interactions – our acute awareness of our own mannerisms and movements – reached new heights as our screens became mirrors.
With Lethbridge’s wider practice engaging themes of deception, misdirection, misinformation and visual truths, The Archive of Gesture is a foundation for further development. “Winning Belfast Photo Festival’s Spotlight Award is a fantastic opportunity, and I’m truly honoured to have my work selected amongst so many interesting projects,” she says. “The prize money will be so helpful for expanding on ideas within this body of work and allowing me to experiment in ways that maybe wouldn’t have been a possibility before.”