I Will Defend Myself

Concept Text:

I will defend myself engages with the question of representation of women in photographic images produced and circulated in the Arab Islamic sphere. The project explores photography as a subject before it’s a medium. It investigates the visual aesthetics of censorship and image manipulation in order to understand more about identity, representations and gender control.
The project is particularly interested in images that do not primarily form part of artistic image production such as private image archives, stock photography, illustrations in books, magazines, or used on the packaging of products. The main motive of the research is the various forms of images of women and the different ways in which they are circulated and shared. It raises questions such as Why are some images private and cannot be shared with the public? How can the image and its status transform by changing one or few aspects of it? And what about the images of women that are being circulated widely, yet are in no way connected to the actual person represented in the picture?

I really found it inspiring the expression used in the open call »The female future.« It opens new ideas for my research to explore and elaborate in relation to photography and language. Recently, I have raised an interest in the relation of language in consideration to female identity and representation. I have been looking after the Egyptian tabloids, observing the expressions and phrases used to judge and control women representation.
I am looking forward to develop that part of the research more during the web residency through written text and digital visuals to help discover, reimagine the female future.

Bio:

Nadia Mounier (1988, Cairo) is a visual artist interested in photography and image theory. Mounier completed her BA in Applied Arts at Helwan Uni. and was part of the 2016 MASS program for Contemporary Arts in Alexandria. Her work is concerned with circulation of images between different contexts and their effect on our self perception. Mounier participated in a number of local and international exhibitions and festivals. She is a member of Cairo Bats Collective, interested in the city and image production.
Artist Website