The National Portrait Gallery in London is hosting "Catherine Opie: To Be Seen," the first major UK museum exhibition dedicated to the American photographer. The show brings together over 80 photographs spanning 30 years of Opie's career, exploring themes of social, political, and individual identity through studio portraiture, environmental studies, and documentary images.
Marisol Mendez, a Bolivian photographer based in Paris, describes the creation of her striking 2019 photograph featuring Marta Salinas, a theatre actor, holding a bull costume in a field. The image is part of Mendez's series "Madre," which explores womanhood and challenges traditional feminine depictions in Bolivia. Mendez explains that the bull costume, inspired by the Bolivian dance waka tokori, symbolizes masculinity, and the photograph aims to portray a woman comfortable with her masculine energy. The work was inspired by a dream and executed with the help of Mendez's mother, who scouted the location. Mendez is the winner of this year's Saltzman-Leibovitz prize, and her work is featured at Photo London.