Jessica Yatrofsky is a New York based visual artist, best known for her unique portraits in which the flesh of young boys and girls is exposed and their soul is laid bare to be captured in the most honest of ways. Over the years, her unapologetic art, has taken many different forms including those of books and short films, all of which have slowly but steadily managed to carve their own imprint within the art industry while challenging ideas associated with social constructionism. Now she is back with I HEART GIRL, a brand new photography monograph dedicated to the multifaceted nature of the feminine beauty.
Your photography is best noted for its raw and intimate nature. What is a typical dialogue that usually takes place between you and your subjects, during the shoots?
Intimacy is an essential part of the images I create so it’s important for me to start a dialogue first, outside of the shooting. Once I’ve communicated with a subject, we come together and collaborate to find the best way to make a photograph as a team. Now, if this sounds abstract it’s because it is. This environment is sacred and unique to each person and every shoot is different because it largely depends on the subject. When you invite someone to sit for a portrait or in my case, lay down for a portrait, it requires trust and I like to think I create a space where a subject feels comfortable being vulnerable.
While the nude form as a whole seems to inspire your work, what is the one body part that intrigues your photography instincts the most? Why?
The eye gaze plays a big role in my portraiture work because the eyes have immense power and eye direction can communicate many different things about a person and has the ability to completely shift the context of an image. Capturing a subject with a penetrating gaze is particularly fascinating to me because while eye contact can be hypnotic it also has the power to challenge and confront the viewer.
Even to this day, there are many who deem projects like yours, controversial in nature. Why, in your opinion, is nude art still considered to be a taboo?
Every society and culture has their own set of rules in which they construct ideas about the body and sexuality. Depending on where you are in the world, some sort of censorship is always at play. While I acknowledge cultural taboos about the body, I don’t allow them to have any influence over how I work with my subjects. I think it’s important to push boundaries and keep moving towards a more realistic expression of the body with regards to sexuality and acceptance and I do believe we are making progress in these areas.
We recently saw the release of I HEART GIRL, which is essentially the female counterpart of your previous monograph I HEART BOY. Do you feel that your approach was more or less intuitive this time?
There is a lot of cross over in both series. I approach all of my subjects, regardless of gender, in an intuitive manner, however, if anything, I feel closer with I HEART GIRL because as a woman I relate more to the subjects personally. I’ve always been drawn to depicting the body and I think it’s very important to make images that represent a facet that reflects a current cultural landscape, which is why both series highlight gender identification. And while I do feel that the female series compliments the male series, I also think that they examine our notions of the body and gender, in two very different ways.
You’ve stated in the past that most of your subjects are friends or people you meet through them. While one can spot many similarities between them, each and every one seems to have something special. Can you identify some of these qualities, for us?
I do tend to photograph people I know and also rely on recommendations from friends, so in general I feel it’s just a matter of personal taste at play and I find that I naturally gravitate toward subjects that gravitate toward me and somehow a pattern emerges.
In addition to your photography, you also experiment a lot with video. We loved SUN IN MY MOUTH and just how well you managed to deliver ideas associated with every person’s need for communication. Do you believe that love can ever truly exist without the physical idea of the body?
For me love is something beyond the physical senses and because we are spiritual beings we have the capacity to experience love in many different ways. If we are lucky enough to grow old, there will come a time where we can begin to have a better understanding of what that means.
As featured in Chasseur issue #10 – LOVE ALONE (SS15)