‘Ones and Zeros’
Increasingly, I have found that my identity and the way it is defined or presented has been a subject of ongoing questioning. Things that I had never even given much thought to before, have suddenly become pivotal to my personal understanding of belonging and community.
I have always found it difficult to find where I fit in. Growing up, I have been acutely aware of my surroundings and my position within society, and always found it hard to define who I am in a way that always seemed so easy for others around me. I have always felt that I have been forced in the gap between binaries that we, as a society, are forced to adopt and identify with. I now recognise that these feelings of uncertainty surrounding my identity have been there for as long as I can remember.
‘Ones and Zeros’ focuses on this feeling of ambivalence. I have explored these conflicting feelings, by revealing and hiding parts of myself. Through the use of self-portraiture and physical photographic manipulation, I have found ways of disrupting my appearance. Interacting, layering and dismantling these images to create a visual representation of a multi-layered and undefined self.
Through creating this work, I have begun to sit comfortably with my conflicting feelings and celebrate the complexity of my identity and my inability to define it. I am finally learning to embrace occupying the instability and ‘in between’ spaces, rather than it being an uncomfortable and sad experience. I have come to realise that the ambiguity can be freeing and celebrated, not resented and feared.
Olivia Buley is a photographer currently based in London. Often using photography in an experimental way to explore themes of identity. She uses photography for its ability to adapt reality and using that to better express experiences as well as using photography to challenge perceptions and the intrinsic nature of photography.