Artist Spotlight: Sara Swaty

In Swaty’s series ‘In Between & Outside,’ gender is represented as both a fluid, relaxed, and creative expression as well as a more tense and exploratory transition.

Photographer Sara Swaty writes, “The idea of gender and the roles, responsibilities, and expectations associated with it has fascinated me for years. Mainstream culture and society impact how we as a people view gender. Where we live and how we are raised dictates our own perceptions of gender, and what is ‘normal’ or ’weird,’ ‘right’ or ‘wrong.’ In the spring of 2010, I began a project focused on gender expression, which led me to photograph individuals within both straight and LGBT communities in an effort to capture images that question traditional gender roles and explore identities beyond the male-female binary.

“In all of my photographic endeavors, I strive to create work that offers viewers new perspectives on social expectations and restraints within their cultural contexts. ‘In Between & Outside’ is a series of portraits that explores gender identity and the body across a broad spectrum of individuals. The works were created with an interest in how cultural preconceptions about gender have created unattainable ideals about masculinity and femininity. Subjects range from those born into a gender they do not identify with to transgender individuals who have physically transitioned and changed their bodies. The images aim to share the personal stories of a gender variant community while challenging stereotypes that LGBT communities face.

“I am always looking for subjects to participate. Contact me atsaraswatyphoto@gmail.comif you are interested.”

Sara Swaty is an energetic and passionate Los-Angeles based photographer who hails from St. Louis, where she learned to love hiking in intense humidity and cooking Indian food, and developed the compulsive necessity to carry a camera with her at all times.
For more info on the event,go here.

SaraSwatyphoto.com
Facebook.com/saraswatyphoto.com
SaraSwatyphoto.tumblr.com/
In Between & Outside Project Blog

Source:

http://www.advocate.com/arts-entertainment/art/artist-spotlight/2013/09/07/artist-spotlight-sara-swaty