“For me, art doesn’t stop at the gallery space.”
― Petra Collins
“I think the gender norms of emotion are horrendous. Being masculine means showing zero emotions, but having the choice to be angry or depressed. Being female means you are one dimensional – if you show more than that, you are a psycho, hysterical, or historically, a witch.”
― Petra Collins
“My style motto is pretty classic: you give off a positive energy when you wear what you’re most comfortable in.”
― Petra Collins
“Women’s emotions are constantly labeled. Any slight deviation from ‘pleasantness,’ and we are labeled as hysterical. When we are angry, sad, depressed, or manic, we are immediately seen as unfeminine or ugly or weak.”
― Petra Collins
“With social media and all the new technology, there’s just more interfaces around and reminders to constantly be working on our body.”
― Petra Collins
“The feminist movement is way bigger than the word. I don’t police people on what they call themselves, but equality and a general sense of togetherness are really important to me.”
― Petra Collins
“I’ve always been fascinated by the desert.”
― Petra Collins
“We live in such an image-heavy world that not seeing yourself in that landscape can really make it tough to feel human, to feel like you are part of the world.”
― Petra Collins
“As a young woman, I was disturbed by the fact that there was no imagery that truly expressed the experience of a young woman and the challenges and turbulence we go through. All we had were teenage magazines like ‘Cosmopolitan,’ which are very one-sided and show an objectified view of women.”
― Petra Collins
“The selfie is a powerful tool, but it can also be dangerous, and I am fascinated with the process of it because there is a level of self-monitoring.”
― Petra Collins
“My mother struggled immensely with mental illness, and so did I. She grew up bipolar, but it was never diagnosed nor recognized. It was shrugged off like a ‘symptom’ of being female – of her being weak. I also experienced this growing up: I felt that the great pain I experienced was a dramatisation.”
― Petra Collins
“I remember being 12 or 13 and reading ‘Seventeen’ and ‘CosmoGirl.’ They were all about self-improvement.”
― Petra Collins
“I’m very lucky that I’m not a photographer for hire – people hire me for me. I go into every commercial work with an art focus, with that lens; every brand I’ve worked for just lets me do whatever I want to do. I have full creative freedom.”
― Petra Collins
“Oh my God. Brian De Palma. I love him.”
― Petra Collins
“I’m used to being told by society that I must regulate my body to fit the norm. I’m used to the fact that images of unaltered women are seen as unacceptable.”
― Petra Collins
“I consider myself endlessly lucky to have access to the Internet and technology. Through it, I’ve found myself and have been able to join a new discourse of females, young and old, who strive to change the way we look and treat ourselves.”
― Petra Collins
“From the beginning of puberty, I did really badly in school. I was super dyslexic; I was in special ed. I had a hard time reading and writing, so I thought that my self worth was in my looks, how I presented myself, and how other people perceived me.”
― Petra Collins
“I’m used to seeing women being degraded, slut shamed, harassed for what they look like. Even the most powerful women in the world are measured by their appearance and constantly ridiculed for it.”
― Petra Collins
“I get why feminism can be intimidating; sometimes it can seem like this exclusive club.”
― Petra Collins
“My favorite place to go is Zabriskie Point in Death Valley. If you see it at sunrise and sunset, it’s like you’re on Mars.”
― Petra Collins
“When I was 16, I created this online platform for female artists. I messaged women who I loved; that’s how I got work and connected with people. You don’t need to plead for entry into a system that doesn’t want you anyway.”
― Petra Collins
“Hashtag activism is a catalyst, but things have to actually happen in real life.”
― Petra Collins
“I think anytime you can share images that make young women feel a sense of belonging when they might not be feeling their best or their strongest is so cool.”
― Petra Collins
“Occasionally, I’ll wear glitter or blue eye shadow.”
― Petra Collins
“Everyone has a mirror face that’s so different from their natural face. And I think it’s interesting, seeing the way people want to be viewed when they’re putting themselves together.”
― Petra Collins
“I didn’t see spaces where female artists could exist and exhibit their work. So I created a platform for this – one that allowed our works to be seen, but to also weave a community of women that could lean on and work with one another.”
― Petra Collins
“I look for subjects who have stories to tell – who are looking to tell something.”
― Petra Collins
“There’s definitely a romanticism of youth, like, everywhere. Specifically with women, they kind of only exist between the age of 15 to 25.”
― Petra Collins
“If your story is being told by someone who doesn’t really know it, it’s not going to come out accurate. A lot of it has to do with context. Whoever’s behind the camera or pen or whatever.”
― Petra Collins
“I was depressed at a very young age – mental illness runs in my family, especially on the female side.”
― Petra Collins
“On film, you really have to focus on what you’re looking at. You’re imprinting a physical image.”
― Petra Collins
“Women are inherently told their bodies are objects, so that’s how we treat them.”
― Petra Collins
“I just think it’s crazy that we don’t think that the youth are valid. They’re the ones who really know what’s going on.”
― Petra Collins
“I always had this feeling, what I wanted to do. I was trying to work out myself, my frustrations, my body. I couldn’t really pinpoint. I started taking photos of my sister and her friends. I was 15, exploring what it meant to be a 15-year-old girl.”
― Petra Collins
“It’s so rare to see a woman lose control and also gain it back. Women are always told, ‘Oh, be in control of your feelings,’ and a woman is never allowed to express her anger without being demonised as being PMS-y.”
― Petra Collins
“I’m definitely a Sagittarius. I’m such a fire sign.”
― Petra Collins
“I know having a social media profile removed is a 21st century privileged problem – but it is the way a lot of us live. These profiles mimic our physical selves and a lot of the time are even more important. They are ways to connect with an audience, to start discussion, and to create change.”
― Petra Collins
“It’s very insulting when you’re in charge and someone is talking down to you.”
― Petra Collins
“Being taken seriously as a young woman is the biggest hurdle as I grow older.”
― Petra Collins
“Social media has been such a big important thing for young artists and minorities because it’s a community to get noticed. It’s having an audience that was never there before.”
― Petra Collins
“That’s what I look for in models: Someone who can tell a story and has a presence in front of the camera.”
― Petra Collins
“How girls perceive themselves is interesting, and how they act when they’re looking in the mirror.”
― Petra Collins
“For me, being in a car listening to music has always been my one spot to think.”
― Petra Collins
“It’s just so humanizing to see someone be real.”
― Petra Collins
“A good jean that fits someone’s butt right is just amazing. It’s just classic.”
― Petra Collins
“I don’t know what I would’ve done without it. I really struggled in school with reading and writing. Art was my refuge – my way of speaking, of dealing with my own issues and connecting with the world.”
― Petra Collins
“The selfie is revolutionary to me. It is, I think, the only point in history where masses of young girls and women have been able to control, create, and publish images of themselves.”
― Petra Collins
“I’m so pro-selfie because I think it’s a tool that allows girls to create images of their own and of themselves.”
― Petra Collins
“I want people to see themselves in a person. I never want someone to aspire to be someone else.”
― Petra Collins
“When you see stories about women that aren’t being told by women, it can make you feel like you don’t exist.”
― Petra Collins
“I think it’s important for not just me but women of color, trans women, and people who are marginalized to be telling stories of themselves. It’s important for us to be behind the lens.”
― Petra Collins
“People are always like, ‘Did you purposely do something to make people uncomfortable?’ And I say the reason why it’s uncomfortable is because it’s either something that we can’t talk about or aren’t supposed to talk about, and they’re images that aren’t ever seen.”
― Petra Collins
“Curating, in the modern sense, is something I gravitate to. Taking different ideas from a bunch of different places and putting them into one place or space, a story that makes sense or a new idea. Everything is remixed and taken from other things to make something new.”
― Petra Collins
“Just like any other girl, I felt pressure to look a certain way. Act a certain way.”
― Petra Collins
“I really don’t believe in the word ‘selling out.’”
― Petra Collins
“Live what you support online; do things.”
― Petra Collins
“I was very depressed at a young age and felt like I didn’t have agency towards that. Being ‘female’ meant I couldn’t be that – I couldn’t be angry, loud, sullen. Being sad meant I was weak.”
― Petra Collins
“When a woman is anything but pleasant, she is labeled as whiny, hysterical, etc.”
― Petra Collins
“I love working in groups – I think it makes each individual more powerful.”
― Petra Collins
“I really wanted to feel strong, I wanted my subjects to feel strong, but I didn’t know how to do that. It’s really hard for, I guess, every woman to not internalize misogyny. I just learned as I went on how to best capture my subjects without objectifying them.”
― Petra Collins
“As much as I preach self-love, it’s so hard for me to love myself. It’s really hard, and it’s just about building a good network of people and, in this case, a good network of artists. Trying to live your ideals as best as you can.”
― Petra Collins
“You don’t have to wait for anyone’s approval to do things.”
― Petra Collins
“You don’t have to try to get a job and go through set steps before you start a career or start your life. That’s what I want young girls to know – you can do anything you want. Just start.”
― Petra Collins
“My mind is changing all the time. I can’t live in a space that has a fixed aesthetic. I just need a blank slate when I come home.”
― Petra Collins
“If I have extra money, I always love to support my friends who’re making art.”
― Petra Collins
“I’m either working or I’m lying in bed the entire day.”
― Petra Collins
“Just being with a group of girls and experiencing sadness together – it’s a pretty powerful thing.”
― Petra Collins
“It’s so important for women to create images of women – or any group, at that.”
― Petra Collins
“I think a way that feminist photographers work is turning what was the object into the subject and really making it our own.”
― Petra Collins
“A thing that I’m always worried about doing is putting an image of myself on my Instagram or somewhere else that looks perfect, because that’s not who I am, and that’s not what I want to preach.”
― Petra Collins
“I’m thin and white and blond, but I’m not an airbrushed, perfect thing. I have stretch marks all over. I have cellulite; I have acne. To me, it feels like you can’t really be what you can’t see, and so if you don’t see those things, then you don’t feel like you’re valid.”
― Petra Collins
“I think being collaborative is definitely more natural for people who are minorities in any sense – so people who aren’t, like, white male artists – because we don’t have the privilege to create art and work alone, usually.”
― Petra Collins
“Art was – and is – my biggest outlet. I’d probably die if I didn’t do it.”
― Petra Collins
“Because I loved dance, I always need to be physical and moving, so photography that is more tactile made more sense.”
― Petra Collins
“I didn’t really have an identity crisis because I really, really knew who I always wanted to be But I definitely had a lot of problems with my body. I was very skinny, and I guess my body was sort of pre-pubescent, but when I grew hips and thighs, I just didn’t know where I was in the world. It was weird.”
― Petra Collins
“We have this weird beauty standard where women, like, shouldn’t grow: what we think is feminine is often what is also pre-pubescent.”
― Petra Collins
“I grew up on Facebook; it’s a different realm I live in. For some people, this is inauthentic, but for me, it’s all I know.”
― Petra Collins
“Feminism is a lens I see the world through and what I believe in. I don’t ever use it as a tool of promotion.”
― Petra Collins
“We work to create a new wave of feminism that is more inclusive. I want others to feel equal. It’s so great to see women in positions of power, which is why other artists, such as Marilyn Minter, are so inspirational to me.”
― Petra Collins
“My lens and my personality, it’s just fluid. The art isn’t just in one place.”
― Petra Collins
“When I do an editorial or when I do a campaign, I bring that lens to every space.”
― Petra Collins
“I’m obviously a white woman with privilege. I want to make sure I always collaborate with people who aren’t like me so we can create a work that isn’t one dimensional.”
― Petra Collins
“I want to direct a feature film. Horror is my main genre.”
― Petra Collins
“I did two years at art school in criticism and curatorial practice, but I dropped out because I was frustrated that there was this hierarchy where I couldn’t do anything or ask questions.”
― Petra Collins
“Success doesn’t happen overnight.”
― Petra Collins
“It’s hard for every girl to accept their body. This is something that I try to work on every day to set a good example.”
― Petra Collins
“I keep this Hungarian wooden candlestick on the top of my refrigerator along with all my other candles. It’s big and ugly, especially next to all my pretty candles, and it doesn’t really make sense to have in my apartment.”
― Petra Collins
“I came to New York with no money and just one suitcase. I had my family’s emotional support, but they weren’t able to help me financially.”
― Petra Collins
“When I was growing up, my parents would apologize when we didn’t have enough money for something. I’d always tell them that it was O.K. and that I had learned to work hard because of them.”
― Petra Collins
“My mom had been a script supervisor in Hungary, but you can’t just jump into that in Canada without knowing any English. She worked retail jobs and raised my sister and me while learning English.”
― Petra Collins
“What’s cool is when people send me messages or tag me in their photos, which definitely happens more after a project comes out. The best part, I think, is that the DMs and tags are always from young girls, and reaching them is the most important thing for me.”
― Petra Collins
“I post all the time anyway. It’s part of who I am. There’s me IRL. There’s me URL. That’s just my life. Plus, I love it. It’s amazing to connect with so many people.”
― Petra Collins
“Putting your work out there is scary!”
― Petra Collins
“I started out taking photos of my friends on, like, disposable cameras, and I documented my younger sister and her friends all through high school.”
― Petra Collins
“I approach beauty the same way I approach clothing – I think people should do whatever to themselves to make them feel more comfortable in their skin.”
― Petra Collins
“I wish I didn’t think about what my body looks like. It can be done – it’s just a long process.”
― Petra Collins
“People look the best when they feel the most comfortable, so I buy 10 of the same thing if I really like it.”
― Petra Collins
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