Laura Aguilar

Aguilar often turned the camera on herself to explore her identity, exposing her own vulnerabilities and inner conflicts. She extended this sensitivity to the people she photographed, portraying their vulnerable and intimate sides while retaining a direct and candid quality, even when carefully constructed in the studio. The series Clothed/Unclothed 1990–4 show people from Aguilar’s social circles, including the LGBTQIA+ community, the Chicanx art community, academics and other professionals in Los Angeles. She collaborated with her sitters to explore universal themes around the construction and representation of identity that relate to queer forms of community and kinship.