“Reconstructing Reality” explores the relationship between objectified landscapes and the representation of women. Using women’s perspective in fashion and portrait photography as points of departure, the project examines strategies like collaboration and intimacy to reflect on commodification. Through this project, Iliana Michali uncovered the power of a network of creative and immigrant women who bond over their shared sensitivities and commitment to their environments, forming a unique community of their own.

 

PORTFOLIO

ilianamichali.com

This whole research led me to the understanding of the female gaze

as an affirmation of the female identity, an acceptance of diverse

beauty, and the celebration of the self-representation of femininity.

The female gaze is mainly about the way that the work is created, the

human encounters, the safe place between women, and the sense of

feeling heard and seen. It is a way to question the way that we look

at women and learn different ways of looking. My pictures reflect

the way that I would also like to be captured. I attempt to bring

more agency to photo shootings and more presentations instead

of representations.