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PERFORMATIVITY
Digital photography

“…identity is performatively constituted by the very 'expressions' that are said to be its results.”  (Butler, 1990)

Identity is a concept deliberated by many. It is believed that one's identity can be created, shaped and produced; transforming its meaning into something we do in contrast to who we are. One's exterior becomes a reflection of one's inner qualities. Exteriors change and our personas follow suit. Life becomes a performance and we dress for the occasion with the belief that our appearances affect others' opinions of us and in turn affect the way we behave. Our narcissistic qualities, the concept of the self as an idea and identity as performativity have led to experimentation with regards to socially constructed identities and stereotypes. What began life as a simplistic journey of an individual’s persona has become an experimentation of the mass-produced individual, focusing on the performance within portraiture and the performance in life. The question we must ask is which identity is to be seen as true? The answer would be all of them or none at all.

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