Digital counterspaces

The photographic index as a movement of resistance

Abstract

Online photography, a modality conducted remotely via the internet, emerged as a form of resistance and artistic expression during the COVID-19 pandemic. This paper highlights how this process, even after the period of social isolation, continues to serve as a tool of insurgency and remains full of possibilities for visual design. Through this still underexplored practice, new worlds can be created that challenge established powers, transcend borders, and promote unity in an increasingly sectarian global context through an authentic process of co-authorship. Furthermore, its entirely virtual practice revives important debates on the semiotics of photographic imagery, particularly from Peircean and Barthesian perspectives. To contextualize this discussion, the theoretical aspects of the photographic project Metamatter: Anima, produced entirely via video call and published by the PHADEC laboratory (Photography: Art, Design & Communication), are presented here.