Daphne Oude Geerdink
Internship: Ellie Tsatsou
daphneoudegeerdink.com, daphneoudegeerdink@hotmail.com, instagram.com/daphne.og
Is the colour blue that I am seeing the exact shade as yours? Do we perceive it in the same way?
I’m fascinated by our different ways of seeing and perceiving. Photography is an intuitive tool to help me understand the world and my position on it, I use my camera as a device to investigate. I construct my own world through observation and analysing the real world.
My work is based on a fascination of identity, questioning my own and exploring this through and with others. (Self)-representation is often the core while I am trying to define abstract and intangible topics. How does it feel? And how does it show? With reappearing themes within such as social constructed human behaviour, gender, body language and a sense of belonging. While making work intimacy and collaboration are important factors in my process. My ambition is to spark dialogue and create space to question or shift the viewers standards.
GRADUATION PROJECT
I Am OK
I can’t remember when it started, maybe it was always there. Feeling black and blue, bruised from inside and out. Am I enough?
In I Am OK I am finding ways to connect with each other through a mutual feeling of discomfort which is rooted within ourselves. We all understand feelings of being restless, anxious, feeling lonely or sad, we all experience those specific emotions but some of us feel this on a daily basis. With this project I unify and create a safe space for those who feel unheard and alone.
As somebody who has experienced different kind of mental health instabilities for over a decade, I know how hard it is to communicate something that is invisible to the eye to outsiders. And I acknowledge that even in trying to capture what is going on inside of my head, it will never be the same as actually experiencing it.
THESIS
Gender Gazing: A research on male and female representation in film and photography
My thesis started with a daily confrontation of a very male-gaze-oriented-poster hanging in my hallway. During this time period I started to question about ‘the female gaze’ due to seeing this term and similar terms in my social media newsfeed. I was confused what the term ment, because it was showing up everywhere, especially in the photography field, yet nobody was defining this ‘female gaze’ term. Is it a critical term? Is the female gaze about how women look at women? Or is it perhaps the opposite of or a counter-reaction to the male gaze? Is the female gaze always about feminism? Or is it something else? In this thesis I am trying to define and understand the female gaze by discussing different forms of gazing; the male gaze, female gaze and queer gaze. How does gazing affect our identity and representation in film and photography? And how does this defines me as a maker?
If you're interested in purchasing my thesis, please do not hesitate to send me an e-mail.