Cosimo

Change is a constant process – sometimes clearly visible, sometimes barely perceptible. The term ‘In Transition’ describes the state of transition: a liminal space between stability and change, between the familiar and the new. However, it is often the inconspicuous, slow-moving processes that elude our conscious perception. 

Over a period of three years (2022–2025), I documented Cosimo during his transition to capture the constant changes and make them visible to him. The result is a long-term portrait that accompanies a process characterised by self-determination, profound decisions, farewells, uncertainties, new beginnings, and the process of disappearing and reappearing in the search for one’s own identity. 

Against the backdrop of a sensitive lived reality, this work explores questions of responsibility and ethics in portrait photography and reflects on how the medium of photography can make phases of transition visible without simplifying them or exposing them in a voyeuristic manner. From discussions about the ‘how’, a collaborative portrait emerged in partnership with Cosimo, one that understands the photographic process as a dialogue in which decisions regarding proximity, visibility and image selection are negotiated jointly, and the subject participates in the representation of their own image. In this open-ended process, the focus is not only on questioning what can be shown, but also on what should remain hidden – and for whom an image is intended. 

The analogue photographic work thus defies the logic of ever-accelerating image-making processes. Deliberately employed multiple exposures are, amongst other things, recurring elements used to visualise the complexity and multidimensional nature of a person. With the aim of establishing a connection to a sensitive reality of life, the photographs have been created for a physical space that provides a framework for encounter and exchange, and deliberately avoids the constant presence (and, in some cases, stigmatisation) found on social media. The aim of the work is to foster empathy and a nuanced understanding of processes of change – serving as a moment of reflection both for the person portrayed and for outside observers.

The project was initiated at Cosimo’s request. The work developed further as part of the Master’s programme in ‘Visual Strategies and Stories’, specialising in photography, at Burg Giebichenstein University of Art and Design, under the supervision of Prof. Stephanie Kiwit. A photobook was produced as part of the final project. Other elements of the work include woven image collages by Cosimo and myself, hand prints, a fabric print, fine art prints and a video installation.