Petra Collins Jackie and Anna (rainbow tear)

Upon picking up a 35mm camera at the age of 15, Toronto-born Petra Collins rapidly developed her signature style of photographs depicting the complex world of teenage girls. She captured her sister Anna—a recurring muse for the artist—and their friends, as they navigated their sexuality, femininity, friendships, and social media. Today, at 24, the New York-based artist successfully creates work that often straddles the worlds of art and fashion.

Jackie and Anna (rainbow tear) (2017) is an extension of Collins’ recent photographic series, 24 Hour Psycho, in which she explores her personal relationship with mental illness. Commissioned for the Festival in conjunction with her solo exhibition in the CONTACT Gallery, this public billboard reveals an intimate moment of compassion between Collins’ sister and her longtime friend.  Captured in a haze of blue, the portrait galvanizes sentiments that are typically shunned, and ascribes power to those that openly share their emotions.

Presented in conjunction with Petra Collins’ exhibition Pacifier in the CONTACT Gallery until June 24