Based on the long history of painted double portraits, this set of photographic diptychs aims to extend the performative process of portraiture through the relationship of two participants, displaced by migration. To make this new series, Manchot photographed two people from the Turkish community, one living in London and one in Istanbul, who in the first instance nominated each other as their ‘counterpart’ for the portrait. The work hence portrays a relationship between two people: family ties, friendship, romance - while at the same time portraying each individual in their respective homes, locating them subtly in their culture and country. In reference to the history of painted double portraiture the two images create visual links across the separation of each clearly defined image, and hence attempt to build a visual bridge between the two people – connected yet displaced.
