Chloe Sheppard’s Paean to Contemporary Girlhood (Blog Review 9)

While digital technologies have exposed us to the manipulation of reality possible through the photographic medium, young female photographers are now exploring how photographs might still be able to represent truth. Artists like Juno Calypso, Arvida Bystrom, and Chloe Sheppard “examine the realities of being a modern woman and the intricacies of female self-perception.” Their work goes against the trend of airbrushing and editing typical of social media or magazines and depicts the imperfections of reality, a more honest and familiar reality to express to young girls and viewers. These photographers are able to dismantle the notion of the “ideal woman” and make photography into a medium for self expression and relatability. 

I find this conversation to be interesting, because of photography’s nature of being a representation of reality, inherently not entirely truthful or unbiased. Photography represents a lens on reality. That which is beautiful or ideal is so subjective. I wonder what the artists hope to represent as true womanhood and how they aim to make their photography truly relatable to young women. What seems like a feminist approach to photography seems to be at risk of being contrived in conversations such as these. Despite this, I like the idea that photography can a medium for empowerment, representation, and community.

Link to the article: http://www.bjp-online.com/2018/10/chloe-sheppard-film-photography/