Thereâs a scene in Kali Uchisâs âAfter the Stormâ video where she sings directly into the camera, her face expressionless as two house sparrows pick apart the perfectly teased curls framing her perfectly made-up face. Moments like this oneâodd, funny disruptions of perfectionâare where Nadia Lee Cohen thrives.
The L.A.-based artist and burgeoning filmmaker behind Uchisâs video uses her art to subvert and question societyâs ideals, whether they center around beauty, wealth, womanhood, or desirability as a whole. She creates characters who operate within the paradigm theyâve been born into, but only on their own terms. Irreverence runs amok alongside a heightened level of self-awareness. Hers are characters that indulge in their freedoms while understanding the manufactured systems that imprison them.
Born and raised in England, Cohenâs work has an incisive outsiderâs perspective of the perfection-driven culture of the States. Itâs a theme that plays out repeatedly in her pictures and one sheâs been able to hone by drawing on the iconography of â60s and â70s American suburbia.
She employs all the familiar imagery and styles from the time periodâmannequin-like housewives, eccentric interior design, manicured lawnsâbut injects the scenes with an air of fantastical unease. From blasĂŠ facial expressions to chilling crime scenes, thereâs always something amiss in Cohenâs worlds. Itâs this melding of the mundane and the macabre that leaves you feeling as though youâve entered a Lynchian portalâa comparison Cohen wonât refute. In fact, she often sites Blue Velvet as a major inspiration.
We caught up with Cohen to discuss her subversive photographs and her future plans for filmmaking.
Your work feels like surreal snapshots of a Lynchian dreamworldâa place where American middle class suburbia is kind of exalted into this exotic realm. It totally subverts our idea of that prosaic American lifestyle of the â60s and â70s. How did you develop this very distinctive style? What inspired thisâespecially as someone from England, not the U.S.?
I am fascinated by late â60s and early â70s aesthetic and culture. The dark humor just comes with my personality and the way I think. I honestly donât seek to make juxtapositions within the aesthetics and the message; it just seems to be there in every image.Â
Describe your creative processâhow do you go about envisioning the characters and the scenes you photograph?
It varies, but usually it will start with narrative. I am influenced by cinema and cinematic photography, so I tend to envisage the characterâwhy they have arrived in the situation depicted and what they are feeling, which tends to be something negative, as that is predominantly what interests me.Â
How would you describe your photographic style in three words?
Might not like (it).
Who are you favorite photographers?
There are many, though they havenât altered very much since discovering them at university. I am drawn to photographers who deal with narrative in a cinematic way, to name a few; William Eggleston, Philip Lorca Dicorcia, Nan Goldin, Cindy Sherman, Martin Parr (Martin more for humor than cinematic narrative).
Youâre originally from Englandâwhy did you choose to move to L.A.?
The landscape and the people inspire me, though I have to make frequent trips out of L.A., as I become blind to the landscape if I remain here for long periods of time without a break.Â
Favorite part about living here?
The characters.Â
Who do you dream about photographing?
Most people I want to photograph are dodging the grave, so I try not to get too hung up on the idea of capturing them as I would be devastated if I had my heart set on it and I couldnât get to them before theyâre six feet under. Â
Your project â100 Naked Womenâ is an ongoing series youâve been working on consistently for the past couple years. Youâve used it as a way to comment on societyâs censorship of the female form. What inspired this project?
I donât see the big deal about being naked, and the concept is magnified nowadays by the rules and restrictions in place on the internet.
I just wanted to create a beautiful, fictional and cinematic universe where women are going about their day and they just happen to be nude or partially nude; a world where these restrictions do not exist.Â
Initially it wasnât a direct social comment; it became the catalyst when I first mentioned I was embarking on the project and noticed the kind of women that wanted to be involved; most being advocates against censorship of the female form.Â
Do you have a favorite photograph youâve taken?
The red haired girl outside McDonaldâs.
Any upcoming projects you can share with us?
Iâm getting this book done! I am also spending a few weeks in Italy with some close friends and family to try and focus on writing my first feature.Â
RELATED:Â This Photographer Is the King of Capturing L.A.âs Lowrider and Street Cultures
Stay on top of the latest in L.A. food and culture. Sign up for our newsletters today.
Facebook Comments