In her ongoing series titled ‘The Stranger I Am,’ Greece-based photographer Annemarie Deckers explores self-discovery and identity while analyzing a pervasive sense of estrangement.
Her works represent monochromatic fragments of dispersed ideas that, once assembled in a deliberate order, become an imaginative, albeit gloomy, diary of past experiences and future hopes. “This series explores in‑between states and shifting identities, and the difficulty of grasping what is unstable and constantly evolving,” Deckers says. “The images emerge from feelings of alienation that have always been present in my life but were intensified by a recent move abroad.”
The conceptual elements of her work form a homogenous conglomerate of dissociative tendencies and hopeful desires, focusing on unexpected symbolism, sensitivity, and marks of insecurity. Deckers clarifies that she mostly works within “the domestic space […], a microcosm that contains many ambivalences and tensions.” This dissonance between outer and inner spaces results in a collection of flashback-like memories, as if recorded out of the corner of one’s eye, not quite clear, yet not quite easy to forget.
Even though Deckers is at the beginning of her photographic journey, she has already taken a clear direction. Her portfolio is a collection of intimate, conceptual frames that gradually become a part of a larger story. “Drawing on my background in literature and literary theory, I weave these images into a fragmented, non‑linear narrative that formally echoes the fractured, unstable nature of contemporary existence,” says the artist.
In the project ‘The Stranger I Am,’ she uses, rather counterintuitively, familiar domestic objects to portray a sense of isolation and destruction that is happening quietly in the background of everyday hustle. Self-portrait is also the form Deckers turns to often. As she explains, “The body is central to my work, allowing me to approach themes such as self‑perception and the gaze of others, empowerment, control, and denial.”
It seems that what is really significant in her photographs is hidden in the heavy shadows. Nothing in Deckers’ portfolio is literal, and no image should be taken at face value.
Read our “Roots” issue in full
The new theme, born as usual from what the submitted works held in common, is “ROOTS.” Within its pages, we present the artworks, creativity, and inspiration of 60 visual artists and writers from 21 countries around the world. Their diverse voices come together around a shared exploration of the return to where one belongs, the invisible threads of tradition that shape identity, and the ongoing reconnection with nature, others, and oneself.
We’re a team of writers using our craft to spotlight art in its most honest form. RAWGUE. started as a bi-monthly editorial experiment where each issue’s theme is dictated by the submitted work, thus removing editorial bias from the equation and preserving a more raw approach. We focus on all forms of poetry: written, photographed, painted, drawn, and filmed.
