Lissa Rivera Beautiful Boy

“Beautiful Boy” is an ongoing project focusing on my domestic partner as muse, documenting our exploration of femininity and the nuances of photography as a transformative medium.

I am using photography as a testing ground for my partner, who is genderqueer, to visualize multiple feminine identities. The photographs provide a canvas to investigate the visual language of womanhood that I was raised with, and that my partner is only beginning to explore. Through watching movies, listening to music and viewing countless photographs, I‘ve absorbed an archive of techniques to share.

The photographs recall childhood fantasies of dressing up, tapping into deep-seated narratives about desire, beauty, freedom and cultural taboo. Although our emotional relationship is private and real, we perform a romanticism that is obsessive and decadent. The fantasy of dressing up transforms the experience of being photographed into one that fuses identity-creation with image-creation.

THEME: TRAVEL Deadline: 31 August 2019

Competition Judge: STEVE MCCURRY

When traveling, the only way to discover the rhythm of life of a place is to experience it.

Each place we visit has its own particular look, ambiance, and atmosphere. Understanding its people, customs and traditions is vital and there’s always something unique to capture.

This summer we want to see images that communicate the life of a place in all its splendor, and trigger our memories. Whatever the subject may be: Street, Portrait, Landscape, Documentary... We want to share your journey, visually and intellectually - Let’s travel together!

1st Prize: $1000 · 2nd Prize: $600 · 3rd Prize: $400