Her portraits reside at the intersection between documentary and staged photography, exploring how cultural narratives impact the lived experience, emotions, desires, relationships and identities of her subjects. Tatjana is a portraitist from Australia who has been working as an artist and photographer since 2004. To see her and four of the couples she’s already photographed talk about the project, go to
Tatjana’s Kickstarter campaign runs until 24 th December 2012. Kickstarter is a crowd funding platform for creative projects, which means that anybody can help make a project happen, with small or large donations, and they receive rewards directly produced from the project itself. Tatjana has launched a Kickstarter fundraising campaign to enable her to travel the US photographing and telling the stories of same-sex military couples from all over the country. The exhibitions will be a platform to advocate for marriage equality by inviting key decision makers in the government and military to come see these proud military families and be encouraged to take the necessary steps to repeal DOMA and make changes to the discriminatory policies within the DoD. The ultimate goal for the project is a touring exhibition around the US and a book of the final series. She is based in the Washington DC area and has received requests from same-sex military couples throughout the US who would like to participate in her project. Tatjana has photographed nine couples so far and aims to photograph at least 50 couples by July 2013. In the same way, Tatjana’s portraits celebrate the respectability and validity of these same-sex couples and provide a contemporary take on the notion of traditional marriage and family. These paintings also served to celebrate the nobility, respectability and wealth of this new family union. The function of a marriage portrait was to legitimize a couples’ marriage, as the formal and legal structures we have today did not yet exist. The portraits pay homage to the historic imagery of 17th century marriage & family portraits. By welcoming viewers into the controversial space that has been deemed taboo and ‘alternative,’ these couples invite viewers to connect with them & their families, and to see that there are fewer differences in their love, affection, hopes, and dreams, than people might imagine. Sexuality is respected as private in the lives of other citizens, but has been politicized and made a cause for discrimination for same-sex couples. The couples are depicted in the intimacy of their homes, usually in their bedrooms. Through telling the stories of these courageous, dedicated service members, Tatjana is creating an opportunity for the wider community and decision makers to connect with same-sex military couples on a personal level. This means that even if a gay soldier is lawfully married, their spouse is not entitled to many of the protections, benefits, support, and rights their heterosexual counterparts automatically receive from the military.Īrt and photography have always been powerful agents of cultural change. DOMA is a federal law that prevents the military from recognizing same-sex marriage.
A new photography project by artist Tatjana Plitt highlights the political paradox the country now faces: The repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell has allowed gay soldiers to serve openly in the military for the first time in US history, however gay soldiers still face discrimination from the very country they are fighting to protect, due to Department of Defense (DoD) policies & regulations and the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). The USA is at a historic crossroads in relation to the civil rights of one crucial group of citizens: gay soldiers. Artist Tatjana Plitt is currently photographing same-sex couples in the military to honor the soldiers who served in silence under Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, and to raise awareness of how the Defense of Marriage Act continues to discriminate against the very soldiers who are putting their lives at risk to protect the freedoms and rights of their country.