BECOMING MY NONBINARY BODY:
The Transformative Power of Imaginative Self-Representation through Image Making
Steef Kersbergen
2021-2023
This dissertation examines the role of imagination through image-making in the creation of non-binary understandings of identity. Marginalized identities are often rendered invisible in society for they don't fit the frameworks of the normative gaze. The research is founded on an autobiographical practice of performance art and image-making as a way to explore and express my trans*nonbinary identity while waiting for medical transition. Through the creation of four performative events on the topic of nonbinary becoming, my research proposes tools of imagination and image-making to subvert the normative gaze and expectations, and become visible. Drawing inspiration from Feminist and Queer theories, combined with Speculative Philosophy and examples of visual artists working in self-portraiture, this dissertation unpacks the transformative potential of imagination in shaping one's perception of the world and oneself.