I’ve been working on a new personal series of self portraits inspired by performers—from the ziegfeld follies and the bauhaus ballet to joan jett and lady miss kier—and it got me thinking about how making work about performance, drag specifically, made my work click into place for me.
when I was a teenager making moody pictures, I definitely had a penchant for fantasy—I loved tim walker, alexander mcqueen, klimt—but was doing the typical teenager thing of trying to mimic images I had seen before (a smidge embarrassing to look back on but artistically very helpful!). when I started college, I was introduced to rupaul’s drag race and immediately started seeking out local queens to photograph. I loved the glamour and absurdity of drag, and taking pictures of queens in my surreal and colorful world made it come to life. I’ve shot some drag photos since I’ve been in LA (4 years this summer!) but am itching to get back to it. this work is still very much my north star 🌟
here are 10 of my favorite drag photos from the past 10 years…
Self portrait. I’ve experimented with drag in many ways—one of them is applying drag onto a physical photo
Sasha Velour for Wussy Mag, who has trusted me to shoot some of my best and most ambitious drag work! Sasha is also a huge inspiration, both in terms of her drag/performance and visual art. When I stumbled upon her magazine I was convinced that we were kindred spirits.
My friend Ivy Fischer as a piggy, in a dress she made out of plastic tablecloths. Yeeeeeeeee haw.
Ryan, who had modeled for me in the past, told me he wanted to do a shoot in drag. Imagine my joy when he conjured up this pose and expression. Styled to theatrical perfection by Rebecca Diaz (this is my favorite dress I’ve ever photographed).
Another one of Sasha Velour for Wussy Mag.
Lisa Couchlocker <3 There was a period of a few years where I set up increasingly elaborate photo booths in gay bars and photographed everyone who came through—occasionally I’d get the itch to use a photo from the booth for a collage and this is an example of that.
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