Melody Melamed born and raised in Los Angeles, Melody Melamed received her BFA from UCLA in 2008, with a concentration in Design and Media Arts, followed by an MFA in Photography, Video and Related Media in 2013, at SVA, New York City. As a photographer, Melamed has dedicated her time to exploring the perception of gender identity, sexuality, the duality of masculinity vs. femininity, and what the body cannot tell about the expression of gender and gender identity.

Miriam Dema’s work is a tribute to the beauty of imperfection and the generosity of life in moments of splendor. In the joy of color, depth and largesse in stroke, dance freely elements indissociable from happiness, such as shared summer tables, freshly cut flowers and fruits. Wooden tables, oil paint, enamel and oil pastels are usually her canvas and technique of choice. Partially uncovered layers of color give her the opportunity to obtain richer textures and nuances and allows the viewer to experience part of the process when seeing the final work. A bold use of color, simplified shapes and dynamic perspectives, combined with the lightness of her constructed memories give her compositions a fresh and naïve breeze. Miriam Dema graduated in Fine Arts at the University of Barcelona in 2017, city where she currently lives after spending over a year in Lima, Peru, developing and evolving her style.

Lotte Van Raalte photographed forty-six women for her recent book project, asking each one “What’s your relationship with your body? What do you think of the current beauty standards? Describe your body as objectively as possible in a few words.” Lotte spoke with us about her project saying, “I sometimes had the feeling that something was missing in my work and I think here is where I found my answers. To not only ‘take’ an image, but also ‘give’ something back. Even for a brief moment.”