Some Reflections on Patrick Tosani - Gillian Wearing - Andreas Gursky

Abstract

Contemporary photography at the end of the 20th century has been profoundly shaped by the crisis of the modern subject, characterized by the dissolution of the idea of a stable, coherent, and self-sufficient identity. This shift has led to a critical reexamination of the notion of authorship, largely influenced by theoretical debates initiated by Roland Barthes and Michel Foucault. Within this context, the autobiographical tendency does not disappear but instead undergoes a radical transformation: it no longer appears as a direct self-portrait or confession but as fragmentation, displacement, or even negation of the self.
This essay explores the works of Patrick Tosani, Gillian Wearing, and Andreas Gursky, identifying three distinct strategies for addressing this issue. Tosani's practice focuses on the fragmentation of the artist's body, effectively stripping it of any singular identity. Wearing, on the other hand, shifts autobiographical expression toward others, exploring the performative nature of identity within social contexts. Gursky, representing the Düsseldorf School, removes the individual subject from his compositions entirely, subsuming it into the vast structures of global capitalism.
The hypothesis of this study is that despite their formal differences, all three artists share a common critique of the modern subject and authorship as a reflection of inner identity. Methodologically, the essay uses a comparative approach, analyzing the works of these artists in light of contemporary theoretical frameworks on identity and authorship. The objectives are to elucidate how these artists employ visual strategies to deconstruct the modern notion of subjectivity and authorship. The results suggest that Tosani, Wearing, and Gursky do not merely question the stability of identity but also challenge the very idea of authorship as tied to a unified, individual self.