Picturing Others / Vera Brandner

Any photographic representation of distant lifeworlds usually entails a visual formulation of what »the Other« might be. Countless photographic images of the Self and of the Other are created, continually rigidifying the boundaries separating oneself from »the Others« and validating one’s own prejudices. Within this field of tension created by the identification of the Other and of the Self through photography, Vera Brandner’s works can be seen both as a reflexive exploration and as a visual response. In her portraits of people living in Angola, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Israel and Palestine she pursues an image strategy built on dialogue and communication. The people in front of the camera allow themselves to be photographed: in front of the lens they strike the sort of poses they feel are appropriate for a foreign photographer, very often staring straight at the camera, reflecting the photographer’s gaze back into the camera and therefore back at the onlooker.