I chose to photograph my co-conspirators and fellow witches as their favorite ‘queens’ because I was interested in what that phrase meant to each of them. My own work focuses not only on re-imagining the way women are imaged, but also on making so-called ordinary women extraordinary by elevating them to iconic status through visual language. It was a personal project, but also a collaborative one in terms of props, pose, and interaction. The queens below span six centuries, and are humanitarians and harlots, musicians and queers, actual royalty and alternative royalty, though indeed, all of the collaborators queered their queen in their own particular way. I hope you enjoy these images as much as I enjoyed making them.
Lo Pecado, Chavela Vargas
I chose Chavela because of her courage to live the life she wanted, even if that meant leaving a lot of things behind. I love her overtly active sexual attitude and for singing about passion and love in Spanish. –Lo
Jes, Princess Diana
I chose Princess Diana because I think the craze and fandom around her is completely nuts. So obviously I wanted to channel her! She was also pretty badass which I definitely appreciate. –Jes
Harley, Christina, Queen of Sweden
She was unconventional and eventually abdicated. -Harley
Judy Mièl, Sinéad O’Connor
I chose Sinéad O’Connor, because I always admired her guts, strengh of will and endurance. –Judy
Louise Trueheart, Anne Boleyn
I chose Anne Boleyn because she’s famous for being a harlot. I’m interested in how harlots influence history and alter what is considered politically relevant. I also love her outfits and jewels. –Louise
Fran Breden, Grace Kelly
She’s hot and the curtains look like a vulva. –Fran
