The edition 2.0 of the Elles x Paris Photo website is now online! Paris Photo and Fisheye continue to offer more visibility to women photographers by releasing two exclusive interviews every month – one written, and one filmed. Today, we are featuring Laia Abril and her immense deconstruction of the History of Misogyny!
In November 2020, Paris Photo and the Ministry of Culture, in association with Fisheye Magazine, launched a website dedicated to Elles x Paris Photo – a physical and digital circuit highlighting the female artists featured at the heart of the fair. A way to give them a voice, through written and filmed interviews. Following the presentation of Valérie Belin on March, 8th, we are now presenting the work of Laia Abril!
Sophie Calle, Taryn Simon, Teresa Margolles, Barbara Kruger, Ana Mendieta, Helena Almeida… Many women photographers have left their mark on the work of Laia Abril. Born in 1986 in Barcelona, the artist first studied journalism at university before moving to New York and devoting herself to photography. She is now developing a multidisciplinary and committed body of work, exploring intimate themes such as sexuality, eating disorders and gender and its inequalities. Throughout her research, she questions the status of women and their role in art.
“There is for sure a predominant patriarchal gaze. Often many women have been forced to adopt it from the status quo, since it was the only one accepted, taught, awarded and normalised. And doing something different would make them renegade from the mainstream outlets”, Laia Abril explains. However, since 2016, she has managed to build A History of Misogyny – a huge and long-running project that is definitely shaking things up. Divided into striking chapters – ‘On Abortion’, ‘On Rape’ and ‘On Mass Hysteria’ – the work highlights the systemic control of women’s bodies, across time and cultures. And in early March, the first part of the work entered the collections of the Musée d’Art Moderne Centre Pompidou. A strong gesture in the fight for the representation of women “Because the goal of this work is that we never forget that our rights will always need to be protected”, the artist tells us.
Read the full interview on the Elles X Paris Photo website.
© Laia Abril / Courtesy Les Filles du Calvaire
© Laia Abril / Courtesy Les Filles du Calvaire
