Nadia Lee Cohen talks about her new cult book!
The photographer delves into her new book Women: The Pirated Edition, which represents a fanzine of her original publication, with Ted Stansfield.
Nadia Lee Cohen’s debut photography book Women became an immediate future classic upon its release in 2020. The result of six years of work and encompassing over 100 portraits embodying “strong femininity”, it feels both timeless and timely, evoking nostalgic, cinematic ideas of Americana while portraying modern, diverse notions of womanhood.
Since Women’s release and no doubt, in part, because of it, the British-born, Los Angeles-based photographer’s career has gone stratospheric: she’s shot for brands including Balenciaga, Dsquared2 and Miu Miu, and photographed superstars such as Kim Kardashian, Lana Del Ray and Julianne Moore, among others.
Now, Cohen has released Women: The Pirated Edition, a continuation of her original book in the style of a Japanese fanzine. Also published by IDEA, this book brings together behind-the-scenes images from the shoots, a curation of the images from the original publication, and a host of other ephemera that hint at the story of its creation (such as a map of LA with all the shoot locations marked on it and a page devoted to Palace Costumes where Cohen sourced many of the clothes).
Here, Cohen discusses, among much else, her love affair with Los Angeles, the story behind the pirate edition of Women and why she prefers the zine to the original.
Hi Nadia. How are you doing? We last spoke in 2021. I’m curious to know what’s changed for you since then; what does life look like for you now?
Nadia Lee Cohen: Hi Ted, I think I’m OK thank you! I never really know what to reveal when a person asks me that. In America, it’s not unusual to hear it up to 100 times a day without anyone actually sticking around long enough to hear the answer. I asked the clerk in Trader Joe’s whether she ever gets a truthful response and was surprised when she said, ‘Sometimes people break down and start crying in front of me.’ A definite perk of the job. What’s changed in terms of my life? I don’t know what to hone in on. I dyed my hair blonde, that’s something new. I feel rebellious having a scalp full of bleach. My hairstylist keeps trying to persuade me into trying a more ‘natural’ shade of blonde as I’m a terrible advert for him, but I insist on Bet Lynch-brass while I can still pull it off.
How do you think your photography and your wider artistic practice have evolved since then?
Nadia Lee Cohen: Matured perhaps? I don’t know, I’m more selective of the projects I take on and definitely more wary of what I put out. The only way I can equate that with any kind of maturity is knowing that if something doesn’t initially sit right then I should probably ditch it. I used to persuade myself into liking an image when my gut knew there was something wrong with it. I envy artists from the pre-internet era, who were able to hide their old work in a drawer or a shed or, even better, burn it.
Something I find interesting about your trajectory is that before, your photography captured a fantasy of America, particularly of LA. In some ways, it feels as if that fantasy of America has now become your reality. Does any of that make sense or resonate with your experience?
Nadia Lee Cohen: Oh god. Don’t say that! The other day I said I needed to ‘get something from the trunk’ and was mocked by my parents – ‘Oooh trunk’. It’s definitely still ‘boot’ but I’m ashamed to admit that I am starting to like Erewhon [the American supermarket chain]. I don’t necessarily think America has become a ‘reality’, as that might translate as losing its magic, and it hasn’t. I’m perhaps just understanding the way it works a little more than before, a bit like a long-term relationship.
Read more here:
https://www.dazeddigital.com/art-photography/article/62304/1/nadia-lee-cohen-women-pirated-edition-zine-idea-tokyo
