Photographer Research - Liora K

Liora K

Liora K is an Arizona-based photographer, who is also a strong activist and feminist. Her views are emphasised throughout her photography. Liora K becomes familiar with her models to make them more comfortable when shooting photographs of them, and this also allows their personality's to shine through the photo's as well. A series I was interested in particularly was her "Feminist Photos", which show multiple images of half naked women and sometimes men, with statements written across their bodies. Such statements argue feminism, equal rights, equality, anti-racism, domestic violence and many more issues within society. Such statements include: "I am not a target", "equal work equal pay", "Enough is enough", "I didn't ask to be raped", "feminine does not equal to dumb", "sexual does not equal to slut" and so on. These photos are an artistic representation of the protests and arguments against and for, abortion rights, equal pay and birth control in 2012. Liora K used women in the nude because it expressed vulnerability that would make certain people uncomfortable, but also, it shows others that women have power over their bodies. Throughout this series, Liora K admits that she learnt a lot more about feminism than she originally knew. All of these images are black and white, so that the black and white paint stands out against the models' bodies. 

This photo is of a topless woman, with "equal work" written on one of her arms, and "equal pay" written on the other. The model is holding her arms up and tensing her biceps, to show strength and bravery. This image is fighting against the views that women should not be paid as much as men, despite having the same job and working just as hard. This series of images stands up for women and fights for their rights as human beings. 

In this image, the model is crouching down and holding her stomach and head, whilst topless. Across the side of her body is written "Love shouldn't hurt". Unlike most of these images, we can actually see the models face, and she is looking into the distance, and looks lost and afraid, whilst guarding herself with her arms. This photo in particular stuck out for me because it relates to Domestic Violence, and about how women should not be abused, and groomed to believe that love should hurt, and that they deserve it. Being shirtless means this woman is vulnerable, but by showing her face and arguing this message, she is showing bravery and strength to a lot of other women. 

This image is cropped so we can only see the back of a woman, which has the words "I am not a target" written on it. As this photo is not personalised in any way, it can be interpreted in many ways, and can also relate to everybody. The statement "I am not a target" refers to abuse, sexualisation and prejudices against all women. This could also be interpreted in a way that a woman is not a target, because she is not an inanimate object. In one sense, she is not objectifiable. In another, it could be seen that a target can not fight back, where as a woman can. Thus, she is not a target because she can stand up for herself and fight against anything, unlike an inanimate object.

There were a few images like this one that had statements like "consent once does not equal to consent in the future" etc. This one in particular says, "drunk does not equal to consent". This statement is written across the chest of the model, whilst she is holding her breasts and covering them with her hands. This photo is arguing that men do not have the right to use women for sex, men are not 'owed' women's bodies, and they certainly cannot take advantage of a woman just because she is drunk. These sorts of statements refer to rape victims, and the types of excuses men come up with to try and justify their actions. 

This is one of the images I shot for my 'Equality' shoot during my exam. In this image, I have used the influence from Liora K and have painted the words "Women are Weak" onto the back of my model with black paint. For this photo, I asked my model to stand tall, and to also hold her arms up and tense her biceps. This position, like the one above from Liora K, gives the impression of strength and bravery. I asked my model to pose like this because it completely contradicts the statement about women being weak, which is what I was trying to achieve. 

This is another image from the same shoot, however in this image, I painted the words "I'm not for sale" on the back of my model. With the influence of Liora K, I wanted to express my views of women's rights and feminism, and use a statement that signifies that women do not owe their bodies to men, nor should they give sex in exchange for feeling loved. Also, women are not objects. Therefore they cannot be bought. 

In summary, Liora K's powerful messages within her photography enabled me to express my own views of certain topics within Equality. Also, without Liora K's influence, I would not have been able to execute these images, as I wasn't sure how to present my ideas and views within my photography, until I found and researched into Liora K's work. Liora K's photography is powerful and meaningful, and shows women how to stand up and be strong.