In my project, Regard, I am opening a window onto my familial reality. To gain control over my message, these everyday scenes are meticulously set and lit up; they are staged and posed. Nothing is left to chance. The performers are my daughter and me. These photographs are a collaboration between two sitters: in essence double self-portraits. The portraits are purposefully developed in black and white. In refusing the decorative and emotionally evocative element of color, I aim to maintain a distance between us and the viewers.
The composition of the photographs expresses routine; domestic acts in which I address the viewers directly. Look at us bathing; look at us grooming; here we are at bedtime; this is us on a random day at the beach. In each mundane scene, the viewers are plunged into the perspective of an outsider.
At first glance, it may seem that I am offering us as vulnerable prey to their judgement, but in fact I am guarding our lives, and the viewers are caught gawking at my direct gaze towards the camera.
Because I believe in the connective power offered by depictions of domesticity, I hope that Regard helps the audience rethink some of their assumptions about people living with disabilities and with this, I hope my series finds a humble spot within the movement that helps people with disabilities gain visibility.
— Anna Grevenitis
This work was recognized as a winner of the Critics’ Choice Awards 2022. We encourage you to discover all 40 winners from this year — there are many remarkable stories to see.