Encoded Self: Steganography and the Subversive Power of Personal Photography
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School of Arts, Design and Architecture |
Master's thesis
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en
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77
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Abstract
This thesis is an artistic research project that redefines steganography, the practice of hiding messages within ordinary media, as both a visual strategy and a political method of resistance. It asks: how can photography, as a steganographic medium, be used to challenge dominant narratives and preserve marginal memory? I develop two original concepts: unintended steganography, where meaning or data is hidden in an image unconsciously, and talkative photographs, images with layered meaning, not only in their central subjects but also in peripheral details, overlooked background elements, and fragments contributing to the narrative. My theoretical framework is based on Benjamin’s optical unconscious, Barthes’ punctum, and Rancière’s emancipated spectator, each of which shapes my analysis of how images speak beyond their surface. There is also a discussion of Derrida's notion of the archive as a structure of power, Foucault's theory of discourse and control, as well as Sekula's critique of photographic archives as sources of archival classification. In this case, everyday images are transformed into tools of resistance, capable of preserving memory and truth in the form of subtle, often unnoticed details. In this context, resistance is understood as a practice of political remembrance, a counternarrative to official narratives, and a refusal of imposed meanings. In my artistic project Encoded Self, I return to a wedding photograph taken three days before the downing of Flight PS752, in which the groom, Farid, was killed. What first appeared as an ordinary family image, transformed into a vessel of grief and political memory. I explored its hidden layers through repeated acts of looking, writing, textile work, and visual intervention. In this practice, personal photographs, especially in family albums, are seen not just as emotional artifacts, but also as complex visual fields in which layers of personal and political data are encoded. I propose a steganographic reading model for vernacular photography that uses indexical traces, symbolic context, and lived memory to uncover hidden narratives within everyday images. This thesis consists of three parts, two written and one artistic, which was exhibited at the Finnish Museum of Photography in January 2025 under the title Image Being.Description
Supervisor
Weber, DonaldThesis advisor
Laakso, HarriOther note
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