The liminal, or in-between identity, experience
Photographer Sue Stevenson didn’t mean to evoke emotion for in-between identity, but she has. In visualizing what she considers crisis in mid-life, the images also convey what some may describe as the feeling of loneliness often accompanied with being in-between, or in-between identity.
In her artist statement, Stevenson explained: “Locked-In,” a reference to “Locked In Syndrome” explores the experience of being stuck in life, especially in mid-life and the accompanying sensation of not being able to control the forces that seem to dictate one’s existence. Using metaphor and imagery that suggests the inability to move on, the series evokes the absence of agency and the apparent senselessness of each waking day. The choice to use self-portraiture reflects not only a personal journey, but also a common experience of women who feel consciously aware of what they should pursue or speak up about. Women often feel inert in the face of a dominant power: unequal relationships, demons residing in the subconscious, societal expectations, and especially the disappearance of relevancy with encroaching age.
Discussing in-between identity of any sort, she mentioned a favorite quote:
“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one’s lifetime.”
Stephenson’s series won in honorable mention in THE 11TH EDITION OF THE JULIA MARGARET CAMERON AWARD FOR WOMEN PHOTOGRAPHERS in Barcelona, Spain.
Check out our video interview with Stephenson here.
Learn more about Stephenson’s work at susanborowitzphoto.com
