This project emerged in response to the absence of archival images and the need to speak across place and time. During the summer of 2024, I initiated a series of performances in which the body transformed into a conscious archival index — a means of giving form to the unseen. In response to the common absence of photographs experienced by people of the diaspora, (be)Longing focuses on the physicality of our existence in the present. It is an exploration through self-portraiture that does not focus solely on the final image, but rather on undergoing a psychological or somatic experience with the potential to transform the photographer in the process.
The project is part of an ongoing investigation in which the medium is used as a magical tool and playful device, rather than as a means of representation. The focus is on what is hidden — what remains unreachable to our eyes. In that sense, by using my photographed body, I manifest personal loss, political crisis, and cultural erasure across the different territories and times in history that I occupy. Throughout the photographic sessions, my body becomes an offering: a conduit for psychological release and a catalyst for political and social awareness.
This project was initiated at Hangar - Artistic Research Center (Lisbon, Portugal) in 2024.