Annotated bibliography
- From the reading list
(a) Mitchell, W. J. T. (2005). “What Do Pictures Want?” In What Do Pictures Want: The Lives and Loves of Images. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, pp. 28–56.
(b)“Pictures are things that have been marked with all the stigmata of personhood and animation: they exhibit both physical and virtual bodies; they speak to us, sometimes literally, sometimes figuratively” (Mitchell, 2005, p. 30)
(c) Mitchell’s suggestion that images can be treated as if they possess “personhood and animation” is directly relevant to my project, which explores the magical or animated quality of ordinary objects. His argument shifts attention from what images represent to what they do, how they behave, and affect viewers. This creates a strong parallel with Bouchez’s idea of objects having a “life of their own” but extends it to images of those objects and in general. In my practice, this raises the possibility that photographs themselves can become active agents, not just representations of objects. The “magic” therefore operates on two levels: the object may appear animated, but the image also participates in this animation. This perspective encourages me to think of photography as a way of producing images that convey this idea.
- From the reading list
(a) Steyerl, H. (2012). “In Defense of the Poor Image.” In The Wretched of the Screen. Berlin: Sternberg Press, pp. 31–45.
(b) “The poor image is a copy in motion. Its quality is bad, its resolution substandard.” (Steyerl, 2012, p. 32)
(c) Steyerl’s concept of the “poor image” introduces a critical perspective on how images circulate within contemporary capitalist systems. Rather than valuing high-resolution, polished images associated with advertising and consumer culture, she focuses on degraded, compressed, widely shared images that operate outside traditional hierarchies of value. This is important for my practice because it challenges the aesthetic norms that often neutralise or standardise objects through clean, desirable imagery. If commercial photography tends to present objects as perfect, the “poor image” offers an alternative: an image that is low-quality, unstable, and evolving. In relation to my interest in the magic of ordinary objects, this suggests that magic might emerge not through perfection but through distortion, loss, or circulation. Blurry images often have more aura than clean pictures. It pushes me to consider how image quality, resolution, and distribution affect perception, and whether embracing imperfection can reintroduce ambiguity and presence into photographic representations of everyday things.
- Related in topic
(a) Bouchez, Hilde. A Wild Thing. Art Paper Editions, 2021.
(b) “Objects are not passive. They carry traces of relationships, time, and attention.”
(c) In this book, Bouchez develops an idea that defines everyday objects as active participants in lived experience rather than inert materials, almost attributing them a magic aura, a mystical allure or an inner light. She exploring the history of design as well as the latest tendencies to try explain what is the intangible appeal, the extra dimension of those objects. In my practice, helps me understand how objects can carry a ‘presence’ depending on historical and personal context. I am interested in how an object can feel charged through symbolism, but also through accumulated attention and use. In my work, this supports an approach where objects are not staged as neutral still-life elements but treated as if they already contain a narrative and a power. It also legitimises a sensitive, almost intuitive practice, where meaning is not imposed but revealed.
- Related in method
(a) Sontag, Susan. On Photography. Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1977.
(b) “To photograph is to appropriate the thing photographed.” (Sontag, 1977, p. 4)
(c) Sontag’s idea of photographic “appropriation” is crucial for understanding photography as an active transformation of reality rather than a neutral recording tool. This is particularly relevant to my interest in the “magic” of ordinary objects, because it suggests that photography itself can produce a kind of shift in perception. In my practice, it defines photography as a process that alters the status of everyday objects simply by isolating and reframing them. It extracts and multiplies its original aura. This opens up a methodological approach where meaning is generated through composition and lightning rather than through physical alteration of the object. Photography becomes a way of revealing the qualities already present in the ordinary. It can be used to share the stories those objects, but shouldn’t flatten them.
- Critical position
(a) Vial, S. (2014). Court traité du design. Presses Universitaires de France.
(b) “Le design n’est pas le champ des objets mais le champ des effets.” (Vial, 2014, p. 115)
(c) Vial’s definition of design as the production of experience rather than objects themselves provides a critical framework for reconsidering both objects and images in my practice. It makes me reconsider the material form and think more of the conditions of perception and use. But he introduces the concepts of overproduction and consumption in the fields of design. This is crucial to considering how contemporary design, especially graphic design, functions within capitalist systems. In this context, the “magic” of ordinary objects becomes suppressed by their reduction to consumable images and commodities. My practice positions itself against this logic by using photography to reframe those object that didn’t have any meaning put into. I aim to change their perception and create a space where objects can be experienced outside of their designed purpose.
- Wild card
(a) Rousteau, P. (various works). Photographic practice.
(c) Paul Rousteau’s photographic approach offers a compelling visual practice of transforming ordinary objects into something ethereal and almost immaterial. Through the use of blur, light, overexposure, and intense colour, he destabilises the legibility of the image, dissolving objects into atmosphere and creating an aura. This is particularly relevant to my interest in the “magic” of everyday objects, as it demonstrates how photography can move beyond representation and into senses and emotions. Rather than clearly defining the object, Rousteau’s images that invite viewer to experience rather than identify. In my practice, this inspires a shift away from sharp, descriptive imagery toward something more ambiguous and delicate. He uses photography to show things how he sees them through his eye.
My line of inquiry
This project investigates how ordinary objects can be perceived as “magical” and how photography can participate to change their perception. My interest goes from religious and witchcraft objects to everyday objects how everyday things can appear charged, active, or with a certain aura when removed from their usual context. The central question is: how does perception shift when an object is isolated, staged, or photographed, and when does it begin to feel like it has presence beyond its material function?
I will explore this through a photography-based practice combining still life composition, found objects, and controlled lighting. By arranging banal objects in deliberate ways and documenting them photographically, I test how meaning and “aura” can be constructed or intensified through visual framing. This approach is informed by ideas of photographic reproduction and aura (Susan Sontag), and the emotional and material sensitivity of objects (Hilde Bouchez). The work ultimately asks whether “magic” is something inherent in objects, or something produced through acts of seeing, arranging, and photographing them.