LEX BARBERIO

For this issue I had the pleasure to interview Lex - a multidisciplinary award winning creative who works across the fine art and advertising fields. Her stunning work features vibrant colours, dramatic and dynamic poses, with clever play on gender and identity.

How did your journey begin as a photographer?

My journey began as a photographer around the age of 12 when I first traveled to Europe. My dad had just gotten a nice camera for his birthday and he let me use it while we were walking around France and England. I remember my mom telling me to put the camera down so I could live in the moment and that's when I realized that taking the photos really made the moment for me. I found that the photos I took brought me back to the moments I shot them and that felt a little bit like magic. I chased down that feeling and it led me to where I am today.

What is your inspiration?

My inspiration comes from the various places, people, and things I come across in life that speak to me. Sometimes it comes in the form of a charismatic person, or an interesting setting, it could also come from an article I read, or a scene from a movie-- I try to keep an open mind to let the inspiration come to me. The main thing that defines my inspiration, though, is always a touch of something whimsical. Whenever a piece of inspiration leads me to an idea that makes me feel like Willy Wonka or the Mad Hatter, I know I'm on the right path.

I know that you recently had a solo exhibition, could you tell us a bit more?

Yes! It was actually my first museum exhibition so I was very excited to have been invited by the Museum of Contemporary Art Long Island to display my work there. I showed two bodies of work, "The Ambisextrous" and "Understanding Me", which were both created to bridge the knowledge gap between the LGBTQIA+ community and the people outside of it.

With the aim of expanding the definition of beauty and LGBTQIA+ acceptance, "The Ambisextrous" celebrates gender fluidity and those who dare to be different by being themselves. The nine piece set is made up of three photos of each model. One masculine, one androgynous, and one feminine.

All three looks were blended into one piece to create a seamless transition between each look.

The second set, “Understanding Me”, explores the journey of twelve LGBTQIA+ people and their relationships with their gender and pronouns. In today's society, a person's identity is automatically wrapped into their gender, so therefore understanding one's own, or someone else's, gender is central to understanding them. This series is made up of a 30 minute interview style film of the subjects, as well as a set of neon embedded portraits with the words "He", "She", or "They" literally woven into their bodies to show how inseparable a persons pronouns are from their identity.

In 3 words how would you describe your work?

Playful, Unconventional, Personal

Always! Right now I have two main focus points, the first is getting The Ambisextrous and Understanding Me into more museums and galleries, and the second is building on both of those concepts to create a second phase for each of them that digs deeper into their themes and evolves the work. It's so hard to answer this question because there are so many shots and shoots that I'm proud of for different reasons. You can put anything I've exhibited in the 'most proud' category, I also have a lot of images that I've taken over the years that I've fallen in love with like one of my friend Soi floating in water (I have this image on my credit card), and a shoot I did this past year with my friend Dave where I had him eat spaghetti with his hands. I love a messy shoot.

What advice would you give anyone trying to get into photography?

I think a lot of times, especially when first starting photography, we pull up blanks when trying to think of what to shoot. My advice is to start with your interests and let them lead you to your next shot. If you like cars, go to a track, if you like playing pool, find a table-- explore what you love through your lens.

Where can people find you?

I'm all over the interwebs, let's connect!

Instagram: @LexBarberio Website: LexBarberio.com Email: Lex@LexBarberio.com

by Lex Barberio