From Beatrice Hazelhurst’s interview with Lissa Rivera and BJ Lillis for PAPER:
PAPER: Gender and sex is confused all the time. What I love about this project is that it’s not an exposé, it’s not “BJ’s secret life.” It’s a fantasy world and BJ is the protagonist. That’s what makes it so pure.
Rivera: Right, they’re all based off how you construct your gender based on what you see, whether that be a beauty tutorial or a film or a fashion photograph. So a lot of this is looking at the DNA of femininity in America.
PAPER: Is it confronting for you at all, BJ?
Lillis: Well the project was never about showing me… and I never wanted it to be about that. It’s more focused on both of our relationships to femininity.
Rivera: I feel like we use fashion to time travel to understand the roots of femininity and how it felt in the past, as well as the roles women played. The pressure of gender as well.
Browse the exhibition “Beautiful Boy” at ClampArt
Browse all of Lissa Rivera’s work at ClampArt