About
Olivia Zappone is a photographer and conceptual artist based in Manchester, UK. She is a settler of German and Italian heritage who grew up between Duwamish and Acjachemen territories. She holds a BFA from the University of Victoria.
Olivia approaches photography with a curiosity of beauty as both a tool for control and a vessel for agency. She questions how beauty is regulated, granted, or withheld under capitalism and mainstream media and, consequently, how this signifies a subject’s value to the viewer. Through self portraiture, performance, and collaborative images, she explores how beauty can be disrupted and reclaimed for a more expansive understanding of ourselves. Her images utilize aesthetic pleasure as an attempt to rewrite stories of sovereignty and belonging.
Instagram: @oliviazappone
Olivia works through a queer, femme gaze - one that is informed by a complex history of chronic illness and a healing journey that is equal parts privilege and a deep acknowledgment of interconnection with the land we live with.
She recognizes the role of the photographer as a position of power, intrinsically impacted by the photographer’s gaze. She welcomes respectful dialogue surrounding her images - you can contact her here.