“Gorgeous Drag,” featuring previously unseen work by Los Angeles-based photographer Elizabeth Waterman is an online exhibition presented by London’s Albumen Gallery. It runs July 1 through April 19, and launches with a one-hour Zoom event and “Image Unveiling” with Waterman on June 30, 11:30AM PDT, 7:30PM GMT.
Gallerist Stephan Schmid says, “Between 2014 – 2016, American photographer Elizabeth Waterman undertook an extensive and ambitious project documenting and portraying the New York City drag scene. The resulting “Gorgeous Drag”’ series marks not just one, but two departures.
It was a dynamic time. An increasingly assertive drag scene came out of the shadow of its earlier underground existence – confident of its contribution towards an expanding conversation about gender and sex in the United States. The Bushwick drag scene – once furtively played out in backroom venues – suddenly produced major stars, including Sasha Velour and Aquaria performing at festivals like Bushwig, now in its 11th year.
The project also marked a departure in the career of Elizabeth Waterman. Previously, her portrait work had taken place in the insulated environment of the studio. As a photographer, she felt increasingly restricted and held back by the roles and role-play that govern conventional portrait photography, further encumbered by unwieldy professional equipment.
The act of looking for a new milieu – something less scripted – was coupled with the realization that she would have to take some risks herself. Elizabeth says, ‘I set out to explore New York’s underground performance world, shadowy and slightly unhinged, where the players flutter like moths to the spotlight of spectacle – a mob of bit-part participants and high-profile personalities, people acting out and cutting loose. My equipage? A disposable point-and-shoot film camera.’”
Image: “Aquaria, 2016” by Elizabeth Waterman
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/gorgeous-drag-launch-event-with-elizabeth-waterman-tickets-343410549197
