Joanne Leah’s Ritualistic Staged Photographs

Leah’s photographs portray parts of the human bodies arranged as design elements that are juxtaposed with ordinary yet highly staged props. Using different color palettes, such as yellow, green, red or violet, the artist constructs a narrative that takes the beholder on a mysterious trip through her surreal intellectual world. Her image contents are all inspired by her own childhood memories, exploring themes of isolation, detachment and identity. Leah’s work is based on experiences with LSD she took on techno raves and visits to Catholic mass on sundays while she was still hallucinating. Staging body parts as design elements, she entombs her subjects in mysterious materials and substances, transforming them into something beyond human. Appearing ritualistic and violent, each concept, object and subject is well chosen attuned to her subconscious vision.