“My own self-image is based on pictures of Jennifer and some of the other girls I knew, admired, and desperately wanted to be like. Every day back then, I wished I could be one of those awkward teenage girls instead of the awkward teenage boy I was pretending to be.” Lorelei, 2016
Jennifer Loeber is a documentary and portrait photographer based in New York City. Her work focuses around themes of identity, memory and historical narrative. She has been nominated for the 2017 MACK First Book Award, for her project 'GYRLE'.
About 'Gyrle'
"Years after meeting her as a boy named Robert, I reconnected with Lorelei, now a middle-aged woman undergoing her “second puberty.” 'Gyrle' is an anecdotal observation into female gender expression. Archival images of my younger self, as paired with those of Lorelei’s new life in her true identity, pose questions about the construction and archetypes of womanhood."
Why photography:
"My homeroom class in high school was also the school darkroom. Up until that point I had been interested in going into fashion design and was taking life drawing and illustration classes. It grew increasingly harder to ignore the allure of that sexy red light in the darkroom though and by the end of high school I was totally immersed in photography."
Her photographic philosophy:
"My work is based within the documentary tradition, and I primarily focus on historical narratives and notions of identity. By exposing my own vulnerabilities, I have found a powerful tool to convey stories through subtle visual cues and impressionistic connections. My goal is to translate the personal into the universal through the transformative juxtapositions between individual images in a series.
Mostly, though, I just try to shut up and take notice."
jenniferloeber.com
firstbookaward.com
