ZOË NAVARRO

Tell us a little about your background... where you are from?
I'm a typical American mutt - mostly Irish/Spanish/Lithuanian. I grew up in the inner-city of Chicago, but also spent a lot of time on my Uncle's farm, so i had the best of both worlds, i suppose. I love living in the desert, in all this vast space - but i have a deeply ingrained love of dirt, steel and graffitti.
When have you starting photography and under what circumstances?
I started taking photographs when i was living in Hawai'i as a way to entertain myself when i became very ill, then injured my spine and was almost totally bedridden for 7 months. My boyfriend at the time gave me his old Canon G-2...he has no idea, he really saved me from dying of boredom and frustration. There was nothing to photograph but myself in my tiny cinderblock apartment in the University district, and occasionally a bird out on the lanai. I got really adept at using natural lighting and the camera-remote; hobbling across the room to set up the camera was my physical therapy, photography was how i kept sane.
What/who inspires you ?
The mixture of pain and beauty in life inspires me. The Mexican artist Frida Kahlo had a big impact on me after i was hurt - i never paid her work much attention until after my injury and i’d been taking selfportraits for about 2 months. A friend back in Chicago looked at some of my work and recommended i read her biography. She was a strong woman, who lived through unthinkable pain for years and years. Like her, i was a sickly kid - and strangely enough, i'm supposed to have the same surgery on my spine that she had. She was foul-mouthed, tough as nails and could drink most men under the table. She managed to find joy in life despite her enormous physical and emotional pain. I can admire that. Also, women in general inspire me. We have a tolerance for pain that is phenomenal.
How would you briefly describe your style?
Oh Hell, i don't know. I get an idea in my head - i get worried about how we're going to pay the bills, or my back hurts, or maybe it's something i see on the news, or the woman on the street who flinches when you look at her; and instead of shooting up or committing vigilante crimes, i shoot photographs. I do mainly selfportraits, but style-wise, i don’t know what you’d call what i do. I never had a photography course, never had any training in photoshop... But i do think that whole “purist” attitude of "photoshop is evil" is simple ignorance. If i have an image in my mind, i'll do whatever i need to in order to acheive it. To me, photography is more like Magical Realism than a strict representation of reality.
Is there anyone particular you would like to work with?
They're mostly dead, unfortunately. But i admire visionary work, artists who have something to say, some emotion they need to vent - i love the sort of work where you can feel the emotion slapping you in the face.
Have you got any standard or paragon in the world of photography? If so, which are they?
I am in awe of Sally Mann, Tina Modotti...also lesser-known artists like Asya Schween, Jerry Aaron Hazard and the recent addition to Body-Collector, JS Rossbach. I was blown away when i saw his work. I admire people whose work is riding on the ragged edge between art and life.

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