Kimbra Audrey Lo: On healing
In this episode, we talk with Kimbra Audrey Lo about healing. Kimbra shares how her self-portraiture practice is a way to reclaim power over her image and body after years of modelling. She discusses documenting her breast cancer journey through photography as well as the current issues with breast cancer representation in terms of race, gender and age. Kimbra challenges the phrase taking a photo as she incorporates sustainable practices into her work, trying to give rather than take. She also explains her decision to takes self-portraits nude as a way to distance herself from the fashion industry.
What you’ll find inside:
“I think that consent is the most important part of the relationship between any model and photographer and that clear boundaries should always be established before you even shoot. Also, clear explanation of where the images will be.” (7:50)
“I learned to love of all of my feelings and the complexities of my emotions through my self-portraiture. I feel like in modelling I loved the parts that fit into patriarchal values.” (10:58)
“It was also very healing to love my body when it was at its weakest and most sick and most vulnerable. And be able to find strength and empowerment in moments that were really really horrible and difficult.” (13:16)
“But it can be hard to draw the line in the middle range of like green washing or also I’ve discovered more recently pink washing which is essentially the same thing but for breast cancer… you really do have to dig deeper and find your own personal compass.” (18:43)
“Just the phrase take a photo I have always had issue with because I’m not taking anything. I’m making I’m creating I’m making a self-portrait, I don’t want to take anything. I approach my photography the same way I approach everything in life and I want to give.” (20:22)
What does photography ethics mean to Kimbra?
“Photograph ethics are not separate in any way from my life ethics. Also really specifically in my situation because of the nature of my work and the self-portraits being so insular and solitary they are a representation of who I am … love, kindness and self-responsibility I focus on what I can do and that I think is reflected in my work.” (30:49)
Links:
Kimbra Audrey Lo, an American artist based in Paris, France, found her creative calling amidst the challenges of the fashion industry. While venturing into modeling as a teenager, she quickly grew disillusioned promoting so much inauthenticity and working in an industry that was not in alignment with her values.
As an antidote, she turned to self-portraiture, capturing her genuine self as a form of therapy and empowerment. Having dealt with depression throughout her life, Kimbra has consistently woven the significance of mental health awareness into her work.
She shoots exclusively on film, and develops and prints her work in her home darkroom, experimenting with making her own low-toxic, sustainable, plant-based film chemistry. Embracing over a decade-long vegan lifestyle, Kimbra actively champions sustainability and ethical living. Her journey took a challenging twist when she was diagnosed with breast cancer in the summer of 2022 which has become the primary focus of her work, documenting her experience and raising awareness.
Kimbra has exhibited work at Paris Photo 2024 + 2023, Photo Brussels 2024, Rencontres d’Arles 2023 and Rotterdam Photo 2021.
You can see her work at https://kimbraaudreyphoto.com
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