Petra Collins

Petra Collins
Artist
City of Residence: NEW YORK CITY, NY

WEBSITE
INSTAGRAM

Petra Collins is an artist and curator living in NYC. Shooting since the age of 15, her images are fueled by self-discovery and contemporary femininity which explore the complex intersection of life as a young woman online and off. Collins’s images offer an unflinching honesty, exploring the privacies and publicities of growing up as a woman at a moment when female bodies are ubiquitously hyper-mediated by Photoshop and social media. Collins has curated a handful of shows: Gynolandscape and  Pussy Pat, New York City, NY; Strange Magic, Los Angeles, CA; Literally Bye, Art Basel, Miami, FL; and Comforter, SFAQ [Project] Space, San Francisco, CA. She has also given lectures at educational and art institutions such as York University and The Art Gallery of Ontario. Her work can be seen in publications including: I.D., Dazed & Confused, NY Mag, Purple, Interview, Vice and more. This year she released a short film series called Making Space about teen dancers, and has a curated book called Babe published by Random House out now.

QA:
 

COL: What is your general vision as an artist?
PC: To hopefully be and create the change I want to see. 

COL: What motivates you (main inspiration/muse)?
PC: The girls and women around me. 

COL: Why did you choose this particular artistic medium?
PC: It's a way for me to tell a story - to capture an exact moment that won't exist again. 

COL: What is your idea of the perfect piece of art?
PC: Something that makes you want to die. 

COL: What - in your opinion - is the main difference between fashion and art?
PC: There isn't really a difference when both a practiced properly (without greed). 

COL: What is your definition of beautiful?
PC: Whatever isn't. Pimples, lines, curves, cracks, etc. 

COL: Is there a message to be read from your work, politically or otherwise? PC: My only hope is that it can empower women in any way. 

COL: How has digital media opened up creative possibilities for you as an artist?
PC: It has allowed me to have a much greater platform, to not have to go through the archaic art system to do and create things. 

COL: What is your greatest extravagance?
PC: Food- I spend way too much on it. 

COL: What is your motto?
PC: Chill the fuck out 

COL: What other artistic field would you like to excel in?
PC: I would love to really get into film making. 

COL: How would you describe your signature style?
PC: I think saturated colors and dramatic angles. 

COL: What do you consider your greatest achievement?
PC: When I don't hate myself. 

COL: Where do you pull your references?
PC: Everywhere. 

COL: What is uncontaminated to you? 
PC: Not polluted by fakeness.