Olivia Locher is a 24-year old prolific and talented photographer from New York. Her work, while visually pleasing and technically faultless, carries almost always a deeper, provocative message about the state of the surrounding society.
“In California Nobody is Allowed to Ride a Bicycle in a Swimming Pool” from the series I Fought the Law by Olivia Locher. See the full series hereFrom gender issues to unmanageable commercialization, Olivia Locher is never afraid to capture the controversies on her camera.
I Fought the Law: Legislation in American states
In her project mirroring and exaggerating various historic quirks of America’s state-level legislature, Olivia Locher builds up a surreal gallery of a Kafkaesque world. It’s a place where laws dictate everything from riding a bicycle to eating your apple pie.
“In Alabama It Is Illegal to Have An Ice Cream Cone In Your Back Pocket at All Times” from the series I Fought the Law by Olivia Locher. See the full series hereFunny, yes. And thought provoking.
Even if those pictures are mostly rooted in urban myth and fables, the issue of power they raise is no less acute for that. Many of us are ready to surrender our liberty to the Authority without any further questions asked – simply because it is easier to let others do the thinking.
Where does a young artist draw her inspiration for concepts so fascinatingly fresh, independent and powerful?
Olivia Locher on her guiding principles
In 2012, Olivia Locher won the prestigious Conscientious Portfolio Competition aimed at emerging photographers with a knack for the original and the innovative.
In an interview given after the nomination, Olivia Locher told that constant production was crucial to the quality of her work:
Self-portrait by Olivia Locher“To find the best ideas you have to go deep within yourself. To do this I practice Transcendental Meditation twice a day, every day, and by doing so I believe it keeps the ideas coming.”
And she feels that the key to a good photo lies in the importance it holds to the creator. “I myself find that I am attracted to artists who follow their vision and make work without consideration for an audience.”
It is exactly this combination of bold artistic autonomy and a connection to the deepest undercurrents of the collective that make a truly great artist.
Olivia Locher has discovered that secret.
“How To Tie Your Shoe” from the series How To by Olivia LocherVisit Olivia Locher’s website:
www.olivialocher.com
