Meet the imagemakers pioneering diverse and honest representation, while making their own unique mark on their medium<\/p>","protected":false},"author":154,"featured_media":69894,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"_kad_post_classname":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[11856,139,3980],"tags":[6092,11030,4253,402,11029,7837,9765],"class_list":["post-69888","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sleek-art","category-art","category-tech","tag-diversity","tag-east-asia","tag-hong-kong","tag-japan","tag-phototgraphy","tag-representation","tag-singapore"],"acf":{"main_category":139,"legacy":false,"hero_title":"These 6 female photographers capture east Asian beauty in its purest form","subtitle":"Meet the image-makers pioneering diverse and honest representation, while making their own unique mark on their medium","hero":{"video":false,"image":false,"header_color":"black","overlay_color":"","overlay_text_color":"black"},"teasers":{"video":false,"image":{"ID":69894,"id":69894,"title":"17818884_1895647167324937_3612617157260607488_n","filename":"17818884_1895647167324937_3612617157260607488_n.jpg","filesize":76689,"url":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/17818884_1895647167324937_3612617157260607488_n.jpg","link":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/de\/article\/east-asian-female-photographers\/17818884_1895647167324937_3612617157260607488_n\/","alt":"","author":"1","description":"","caption":"","name":"17818884_1895647167324937_3612617157260607488_n","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":69888,"date":"2018-09-07 16:08:51","modified":"2018-09-07 16:08:51","menu_order":0,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","type":"image","subtype":"jpeg","icon":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.png","width":1080,"height":783,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/17818884_1895647167324937_3612617157260607488_n.jpg","thumbnail-width":128,"thumbnail-height":93,"medium":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/17818884_1895647167324937_3612617157260607488_n.jpg","medium-width":1080,"medium-height":783,"medium_large":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/17818884_1895647167324937_3612617157260607488_n.jpg","medium_large-width":1080,"medium_large-height":783,"large":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/17818884_1895647167324937_3612617157260607488_n.jpg","large-width":1080,"large-height":783,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/17818884_1895647167324937_3612617157260607488_n.jpg","1536x1536-width":1080,"1536x1536-height":783,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/17818884_1895647167324937_3612617157260607488_n.jpg","2048x2048-width":1080,"2048x2048-height":783,"trp-custom-language-flag":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/17818884_1895647167324937_3612617157260607488_n.jpg","trp-custom-language-flag-width":18,"trp-custom-language-flag-height":12,"wpvr_mobile":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/17818884_1895647167324937_3612617157260607488_n.jpg","wpvr_mobile-width":1080,"wpvr_mobile-height":783}},"width":"4","proportion":"default"},"facebook_image":false,"related_articles":[69545,69690,39628],"next_article":[69545],"content":[{"acf_fc_layout":"instagram","code":"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/BSs5jaEAry3\/?taken-by=bluebluetammy","settings":{"width":"6"}},{"acf_fc_layout":"text_area","text_area":"
“Diversity” and “representation” are words that are often thrown around within the creative industries, without any real substance or intention behind them. Photography, for example, is a medium that has long lacked the eye and the perspective of marginalised groups. The white gaze often dominates the sphere for the portrayal of subaltern bodies, tokenising them and providing a depiction of minority groups that isn\u2019t representative of what they truly experience. East Asian women, in particular, are often fetishised and exoticised within photography to the point where their actual stories and experiences are deprioritised and devalued in the eyes of society, in favour of work that perpetuates a sense of “otherness” and reeks of white hierarchical power structures.<\/p>\n
However, the times are a-changin\u2019 and a brand new generation of photographers has arisen that is setting its own agenda, not only representing marginalised groups and diversifying the pool of photography, but also making its own unique mark on the medium. So, for this Follow Friday, we\u2019ve complied a sizzling round-up of six female photographers schooling the creative fields on how to do representation right.<\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"instagram","code":"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/BcfVX7qHqLo\/?hl=en&taken-by=joyceszeng","settings":{"width":"6"}},{"acf_fc_layout":"text_area","text_area":"
Hong Kong photographer Joyce NG\u2019s work is hard to define.\u00a0With a penchant for a touch of the surreal and absurd, NG successfully navigates the minefield that is the photographic medium by choosing to portray her subjects in unexpected and unconventional ways. It’s proved a winning technique so far: she’s shot editorials for the likes of i-D<\/em>, Buffalo Zine<\/em> and Dazed<\/em>, as well as campaigns for Yat Pit and Asai. NG is a firm supporter of using photography to explore the potential of the human figure and form \u2014 and the loose, lounging silhouettes of her subjects, combined with her striking use of colour, makes for extremely hypnotic viewing.<\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"instagram","code":"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/BUBjzVuAS6y\/?taken-by=erikabowes2","settings":{"width":"6"}},{"acf_fc_layout":"text_area","text_area":" Erika Bowes is a woman of many talents, splitting her time between photography and running the creative platform Sukeban <\/em>(co-founded with Yuki Haze). Equal and honest representation of subaltern bodies is always at the very forefront of all her projects. In terms of her photography, her work is hazy, intimate and unashamedly feminine. Bowes explores the possibilities of new identities and fresh conceptions of marginalised women. She boasts a particularly delicate sensitivity for the portrayal of female east Asian bodies, and their reclamation of the labels that are often endowed upon them by Western civilisations.<\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"instagram","code":"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/BgmZ2jED-77\/?hl=en&taken-by=alexleese","settings":{"width":"6"}},{"acf_fc_layout":"text_area","text_area":" London-based, Hong Kong-born immagemaker Alexandra Leese is set to become a household name on the fashion photography circuit; she’s already shot Helmut Lang\u2019s Taxi Capsule<\/em> and Women of Wales<\/em>\u00a0campaigns, as well as editorial features for i-D<\/em>, V Magazine<\/em> and Office<\/em>. Leese devotes herself to the constant questioning the notion of identity and one\u2019s place in society. Her latest personal project, Boys of Hong Kong<\/em> \u2014 comprising a documentary series and zine \u2014 examines the notion of Asian masculinity in an attempt to break down the heteronormative, stereotypical view of the Asian masculine body. The result is a joyous celebration of what it means exactly to be young, male and Chinese. Her photographic work is also steeped in a deep appreciation for Chinese traditions \u2014 yet she hands them back to us afresh, developing these old cultural beliefs by combining them with the views of the contemporary Chinese individual.<\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"instagram","code":"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/Bmqx8rEFaZA\/?hl=en&taken-by=nicole.ngaise","settings":{"width":"6"}},{"acf_fc_layout":"text_area","text_area":" Singapore-born Nicole Ngai is currently based in London and is part way through her Fashion Photography degree at the London College of Fashion. Despite her young age, Ngai looks set to become a hit within alternative photography circles. As displayed in her recent work with Charles Jeffrey and Art School, as well as shoots for i-D<\/em>, King Kong <\/em>and\u00a0Sukeban <\/em>magazine, Ngai\u2019s photography revolves around the portrayal of alternative beauty and alternative bodies. She places a strong focus upon the many different ways to comprehend the notions of sexuality and gender, and frequently lenses underground youth communities in ways that provide a refreshing antidote to the current inundation of homogenised “youth culture” snaps.<\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"instagram","code":"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/BmS_cMfl6XG\/?taken-by=bloodypixy","settings":{"width":"6"}},{"acf_fc_layout":"text_area","text_area":" Interdisciplinary artist Pixy Liao employs a pithy, light-hearted aesthetic to zoom in on the expectations of modern day heteronormative relationships. Her work examines and challenges what a relationship “should” be and the various ways in which love can be expressed between lovers. Her recent photobook,\u00a0Experimental Relationship vol.1<\/em>, is a culmination of her ongoing interrogation of her own relationship with her partner who is five years younger than her. Going against traditional Chinese expectation that the man must be the older, more responsible partner within a heterosexual relationship, Liao uses her photography to express her own personal divergence from these expected power dynamics, while powerfully interrogating what belongs to the public and private realms of a relationship.<\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"instagram","code":"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/Bit3lk1lMiP\/?hl=en&taken-by=bluebluetammy","settings":{"width":"6"}},{"acf_fc_layout":"text_area","text_area":" Tokyo-based photographer Tammy Volpe is already a rather well-established name on the indie mag circuit, having featured in i-D Japan, INDIE Magazine, EYESCREAM, FRaU, Sukeban <\/em>to name but a few. Constantly inspired by her Japanese surroundings, Volpe\u2019s work maps out and examines new terrains of the Japanese female \u2014 the wide-ranging ways in which Japanese women can express their individuality, for instance \u2014 while simultaneously challenging the idea that they must conform and be subservient to conventional expectations. With a particular focus on Japanese heritage and body image, Volpe\u2019s colour-infused images provide the viewer with a new perspective of the female form \u2013 one which is unapologetic, unromantic and unequivocally genuine.<\/p>\n"}],"exclude_from_ads":[]},"yoast_head":"\nErika Bowes<\/h2>\n
Alexandra Leese<\/h2>\n
Nicole Ngai<\/h2>\n
Pixy Liao<\/h2>\n
Tammy Volpe<\/h2>\n