By The Big Magazine Staff
British photographer, filmmaker, and multimedia artist Nadia Lee Cohen will debut her first U.S. major solo exhibition at the iconic Jeffrey Deitch Gallery, presenting a thematic showcase of the artist's works from both of her sold-out monographs (Women and the recently published HELLO, My Name Is...)
One of today's most sought-after fine art photographers, Cohen is a master of transformation who meticulously selects models that can emulate fictional roles while infusing elements of the subject’s own identity. Many of Cohen’s works are a creative play on her own image.
“HELLO, My Name Is...” can be considered a collection of 33 self-portraits; however, they are not intended as portraits of the artist. Nadia is not exploring herself, but rather using herself as a tool with the help of hair, make-up, costume, and prosthetics to bring each name tag to life.
The Los Angeles based artist started the project by collecting hundreds of random name badges, which led her to imagine who the person was. David Owen from IDEA–publisher of Women and HELLO... My Name Is – worked with Nadia to craft clever anecdotes for the characters, that were filmed to further add identity and backstory of each one.
The gallery space will include an immersive TV installation displaying never-before-seen footage, where the photographs become three-dimensional objects that inhabit and breathe life into the space, created with the help of Nadia’s Art Director, Brittany Porter.
Unlike Hello My Name Is…,Women took six years to produce and was self-funded through artist's commercial work in music video and fashion photography. The body of work includes one hundred images of nude women of all races, sizes, and identities created between 2014 and 2020.
Cohen's work plays a significant impact in fine-art photography through her signature mix of color, subject matter, and high-end production. Her images draw upon the duality of the female form while exploring the paradoxical standoff between strength and fragility that captures strong characters through an otherworldly lens.
Nadia's photography highlight's beautiful human imperfection with added wrinkles, shadows, double-chins, and love handles on her subjects; coloring in the pain and loss and heartbreak of their would-be lives.
Her trademark style has landed her jobs with industry titans such as Tyler the Creator, A$AP Rocky, Balenciaga, Gucci, Miu Miu, Schiaparelli, and Valentino, just to name a few.
If you are in the Los Angeles area, be sure to check out Nadia Lee Cohen's, HELLO My Name Is…opening this Sunday from May 22–July 9, 2022 at the Jeffrey Deitch Gallery, 925 North Orange Drive, Los Angeles
Follow us on Instagram @TheBigMagazine
Comments