This project was inspired by the incredible intimacy that photographing friends can bring. I am always searching to exceed that intimacy and quality within the image and the story. Some of these pictures thrive on fun, yet I aim to avoid trivialisation as I feel seriously about the breakouts from social constriction that this method affords me. Subsequently, I have an increasing desire to reveal a great range of my life through photography.

With this strategy I like to explore the dichotomy between performance and reality, the staged and the improvised. In turn, this blurs my role as the photographer within the presented situation and underscores the paradox that, as in life, a photographer represents an objective viewpoint whilst inescapably remaining an inherent participant in the action. The degree to which this paradox becomes blurred is directly representative of the level of intimacy attained.

Examples of this approach are illustrated in my book:
DIANA SCHEUNEMANN
published by Damiani Editore
ISBN 88-89431-14-8

A further aspect of this project can be seen in my film footage, which employs the same method but is presented as excerpts of a video diary. These fragments of film footage are arranged in a strictly chronological order. The representation of the passage of time highlights the fragmentary nature of memory. This becomes more and more evident as the audience watches only short episodes of the overall footage. Emphasis is drawn to the unique perception, response and recollection of each person’s experience of the event itself, whilst reflecting the way in which an individual can only ever recall short episodes of their own lives.