Images have no power, we give power to images because we need them as a means of communication. A medium that informs about physical realities, as well as representing the social and political logic of our communities. A medium that imagines identities and embodies our individual and collective desires.
Images tell stories. Stories with which we identify and hold on because of our structural anxiety for seeking certainties. But the story of the picture is not innocent: it can represent the spontaneous mood of a social group, or be the result of someone’s intention to affect others. In this case the image is an orthopedic resource. One that is trying to achieve that beholders imagine their life in certain way.
This is where design comes into play. Design as the tool of those who are planning something, those which are willing to draw images and discourses in their audience mind. Then, the design is an activity created for manipulate and recreate stories / images, while its objective is thus to impact over the discourse of the other and therefore over his and her identity. Here lies the power of the image.
© Sebastian Guerrini, 2014 – www.guerriniisland.com
