Abstract
Given the politicized nature of migrant women’s representation in international media, this paper explores photographic practices that capture their experiences, emphasizing the interplay of aesthetics, politics, memory, and migration. In exploring these intersections, the study frames the political as a space resulting from human relations and acts of dissensus during the engagement with images and image-making practices; aesthetics as understood as a form of knowledge and sensory appearance mobilized through photography, and migration as a force that informs the creation of visual narratives. This paper focuses on self-authored visual narratives created and circulated by migrant women photographers that challenge the simplistic representation of migrant women as a humanitarian symbol of distress. In particular, I focus on I Can’t Hear the Birds by Fabiola Ferrero and Back to the Blue by Freisy Gonzalez. These two projects by Venezuelan photographers explore the subjective experience of returning to Venezuela while performing acts of memory to understand their cultural and national identity in a place that no longer feels like ‘home.’ Both photographic works delve into the mnemonic aspects of reconnecting with the country, navigating a mourning process, and intimate transformation. They articulate the postmigrant condition as a space for encounters that transcend traditional notions of belonging and the meaning of ‘home’. The images created by Ferrero and Gonzalez subvert the conventional image of migrant women and reframe the discourse through personal stories, which I conceptualize as subjective, feminist postmigrant photo aesthetics.
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
KEYWORDS
Photography, Migration, Critical Media, Memory
