I'm many

I Am Many is based on the questions raised by a phrase said by the man to the woman in the book Lady From the Sea (an adaptation by Susan Sontag of Ibsen’s work). The phrase: You have adapted, you have evolved, reinforces the male metric within a hetero-affective relationship — by setting up a standard to be reached, a sort of “place” in which the woman, in order to belong, must dispose of her desires and her freedom, running serious risks if she does not.

I joined with other women, who came from a context of violence and abuse, to debate the gender violence present in the text and in our own affective relationships – some years ago, I was engaged in a violent and dangerous relationship. The violence of desubjectivation that tangles with the reading experience makes visible and apparent our personal and political demands for life, dignity, hope, and implicit care agreements.





The idea was to turn these experiences into something collective, bringing to the public arena that which belongs to the private and domestic sphere, strengthening our presence and returning the notion that a self-aware body can develop the possibility to generate freedom, autonomy, and even joy.

The appearance of each image constructed depends on the collaboration of the woman portrayed — after a long process of group work, we made our own masks and developed the gestures for the photographs, bringing in domestic elements such as towels, sheets, and blankets to serve as backdrops — creating the necessary space to process the traumatic experiences.

I Am Many is the outcome of this process on photography.

For safety, all the women were guaranteed anonymity.

*developed in Casa do Povo/2014, Serviço de Assistência Social à Família/2015m Oficina Cultural Alfredo Volpi/2017

photography
since 2014
giclee print
100 x 70 cm each