Public defence in Photography, MFA Liisa Söderlund

The title of the thesis: In the picture – photography as a practice of liberation (in Finnish)

Doctoral student: Liisa Söderlund
Opponent: PhD (Ed.) Tuukka Tomperi, University of Tampere
Custos: Prof. Harri Laakso, Aalto University School of Arts, Design and Architecture, Department of Art and Media

Thesis available for public display 10 days prior to the defence at: https://aaltodoc.aalto.fi/doc_public/eonly/riiputus/

Since the 1840s, photography has been used to reveal social inequality. The tradition of social documentary photography has been formed from the photographers attempts to influence the problems prevailing in the surrounding reality, and the participants have also been invited to document their own everyday life and oppressive circumstances. 

IN THE PICTURE – photography as a practice of liberation deals with participatory photography. In this research, nine people who have experienced homelessness look at homelessness using photography as their tool. The photographs make the topics that are important to the participants visible. When pictures are shown in exhibitions, the purpose is to increase people's awareness of homelessness and to act as a visual counter-speech to the stigmatization caused by homelessness by changing stereotypical perceptions of homeless people. 

Theoretically, the research is based on the pedagogy of the oppressed by Brazilian educationist Paulo Freire (1921–1997). Freire's thinking is considered one of the theoretical cornerstones of critical pedagogy. In the empirical research, the photographic and discussion material is conceptualized as a practice of liberation with the help of Freire's ideas. This means that photography supports people's participation, cooperation and becoming visible and heard: it is a dialogic and critical awareness-seeking activity. Methodologically, IN THE PICTURE represents rebellious research, i.e. it belongs to those critical studies that take a social stand, where the participants work together with the researcher to achieve a more just world. 

Contact information:

Doctoral theses in the School of Arts, Design and Architecture: https://aaltodoc.aalto.fi/handle/123456789/54