How I See Myself and How Others See Me is an ethnographic multimedia project that explores identity, self and the multiplicity of womanhood. inspired by the work of Jean-Paul Sartre, Frantz Fanon and bell hooks, it unpicks the costumes women often have to wear in life and asks who we are, or want to be, when that costume comes off.

This is done with poetry and photography.

We chat over coffee and cake, lunch or tea and biscuits in cafés and these conversations become poems. Alongside these poems are photos that we take to explore each woman’s version of “how I see myself” and “how others see me”. And where we see ourselves in the midst of all that.

Every poem features words spoken in conversation by each participant. Each photo is collaborative, often placed and styled by the participants themselves.

I want to thank every participant/collaborator for working with me on this. Thank you for even meeting me. For telling me your story, letting me scribble in my notebook as you speak, and letting me take photos of beautiful you. For trusting me, and allowing yourself to be so open and vulnerable. May taking part in this project serve you well. I couldn’t have done it without you. What a privilege.

- Wemmy.

About

Wemmy Ogunyankin is a visual anthropologist, poet, photographer and filmmaker with a special interest in identity, womanhood, vulnerability and social justice.