- Film & Video
- Photography
I Am Not Like Me
Lina Czerny
3 July 2026 19:00–23:59
4 July 2026 12:00–23:59
5 July 2026 12:00–19:00
Beauty shapes the world we live in and has influenced how we see ourselves and others for as long as we’ve existed.
'I am not like me' explores the body as a stage for expression. It does not aim to condemn, but to understand what our appearances reveal about us: it’s not about judgment, being right or wrong, beautiful or not. It’s about the privilege of choice – the possibility of telling a story through one’s own body. It‘s about how people present themselves in moments when they feel most at ease, as if they’ve arrived in the version of themselves they want to live right now. I am not like me is not a contradiction, but an embrace of transformation. It reminds us that identity is not fixed, but fluid, a process of becoming. The series captures how people shape identity through appearance, designing themselves using makeup, cosmetic procedures, fitness, or tattoos. Bodily modification can be a form of liberation, but also of painful conformity. In the moment of being photographed, those portrayed in this work made a conscious decision: to appear exactly as they want to be seen. Today, the pursuit of a “better self” is shaped by technology and capitalism. Bodies become curated, marketable products – always within societal frameworks, yet driven by personal intention. Beyond this, as a photographer, I participate in shaping the construction of beauty itself. Through composition, light, perspective, and my own female gaze, I do not merely capture identity; I actively construct and define what beauty is or can be.
Who gets to define what is beautiful, and at what cost? How much of our appearance is truly self-determined, and how much is shaped by external ideals?
This series highlights variety, transformation, performative staging of identities, and the beauty that lies within.
'I am not like me' explores the body as a stage for expression. It does not aim to condemn, but to understand what our appearances reveal about us: it’s not about judgment, being right or wrong, beautiful or not. It’s about the privilege of choice – the possibility of telling a story through one’s own body. It‘s about how people present themselves in moments when they feel most at ease, as if they’ve arrived in the version of themselves they want to live right now. I am not like me is not a contradiction, but an embrace of transformation. It reminds us that identity is not fixed, but fluid, a process of becoming. The series captures how people shape identity through appearance, designing themselves using makeup, cosmetic procedures, fitness, or tattoos. Bodily modification can be a form of liberation, but also of painful conformity. In the moment of being photographed, those portrayed in this work made a conscious decision: to appear exactly as they want to be seen. Today, the pursuit of a “better self” is shaped by technology and capitalism. Bodies become curated, marketable products – always within societal frameworks, yet driven by personal intention. Beyond this, as a photographer, I participate in shaping the construction of beauty itself. Through composition, light, perspective, and my own female gaze, I do not merely capture identity; I actively construct and define what beauty is or can be.
Who gets to define what is beautiful, and at what cost? How much of our appearance is truly self-determined, and how much is shaped by external ideals?
This series highlights variety, transformation, performative staging of identities, and the beauty that lies within.
Biography
Lina Czerny
Lina Czerny (*1993) works as a freelance photographer and producer in Berlin. She studied photography at Ostkreuzschule and previously earned a Master’s degree in Arts & Media Studies from Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. Her work engages with social and documentary themes, often uncovering aesthetics and compositions in unexpected contexts. Her photobook 'I am not like me' is published by Kerber.
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