Distortions of Self

Alessia Lucia

Distortions of Self explores how identity becomes unstable when filtered through shifting perspectives. Using water as both medium and metaphor, the series examines how the body can be visually and psychologically altered, bent, blurred, or stretched, by the surfaces it moves through. Water’s ability to refract light mirrors how perception can distort truth, producing versions of the self that feel both familiar and estranged.

This project builds on an early photographic experiment in which I first explored distortion by photographing a figure through a vase of water. Returning to the concept with greater intention, I focus on eyes and hands viewed through clear containers, creating images that oscillate between representation and abstraction.

Beyond visual effects, the work reflects the emotional strain of being repeatedly reshaped by external forces — the way identity bends under pressure, and what remains when the distortion finally settles.

About The Artist

Alessia Lucia

Alessia Lucia is a photographer whose work explores identity, perception, and the emotional impact of distortion. Through experimental portraiture and abstraction, they examine how external forces shape the way the self is seen and understood. Their practice often uses simple materials to investigate complex psychological states, emphasizing vulnerability, tension, and transformation within the human form.

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