by Celine Yasemin @celinee_yasemin
Photographer Celine Yasemin has launched a crowdfunding campaign for the production of her book “21 Grams” on Kickstarter. The project is about self-determination and the search for identity of today‘s young generation with a focus on the LGBTQIA+ culture.
www.kickstarter.com/projects/celineyasemin/21-grams-a-photobook
Celine Yasemin started taking pictures as a teenager, growing up in a small city in the west of Germany close to Cologne. Photography helped made her feel more comfortable with her body and herself. Once she discovered her parents’ old camera she could not stop experimenting with self portraits as a healing ritual. Celine started exploring the LGBTQIA+ culture in France two years ago.
In the south of France there had been some homophobic attacks and I was part of a circle of friends who campaigned for the LGBTQIA+ rights. Especially one person and close friend has strongly influenced me in her thinking and inspired me to deal with the topic more closely. Her name is Mara. Mara is queer. Mara explained to me how she felt in her body and what it means to her to be queer.
Identity is not fixed and it is constantly changing. Sometimes it can be frightening to discover that most of the time it is not in line with the prevailing norms.
Again and again we are confronted with different expectations and influences by the outside world which are telling us how to behave. In the quote above, RuPaul, the famous drag queen, addresses sexual and gender diversity. At the same time, she calls upon us to live our lives the way we want to in terms of gender and sexuality, regardless of prevailing boundaries and norms.
