Coco Ardal

In my project Between Us, I explore collaboration and agency in portraiture, challenging the historical commodification of women's bodies in photography. The first part of the project is a series of portraits of ten women—friends, family, and new acquaintances—photographed in intimate spaces in their homes. Rather than imposing my artistic vision, I invited these women to take an active part in how they are portrayed, positioning them as collaborators with agency in the creative process. The resulting work is not just a reflection of my ideas or of their self-expression, but something that unfolds between us: the photographer, the subject, and ultimately the viewer.

For the second part of the project, I asked some of the women to take self-portraits with a release cable in front of a mirror while filming themselves. I left the room, leaving them in charge of the process. By showing the video of the process instead of the final images, the viewer is invited to see how the women pose in front of the camera, make adjustments and observe themselves in the mirror, creating a layered experience of looking: the women looking at themselves, the camera looking at them, and the viewer looking at this intimate process of self-representation.