Nessie made of modelling clay, the moon landing in sand, lit with a torch: in this workshop the class rebuilds famous photographs and photographs them again. What makes an image an icon? And how real is what we see?

Visual literacy means looking at images consciously, understanding them and questioning them critically. Anyone who can decode visual information recognises its effect in art, media and advertising. This is the aim of this participatory workshop. By restaging photo icons, students engage closely with one image and learn how images can be manipulated and reinterpreted.

The link to images from social media is obvious. Which clichés do media carry? Where do we meet fake news and manipulated images? AI-generated pictures, like the famous image of the Pope in a white puffer jacket, are a current example.