WHO IS STRANGE EXPOSURES
WHO IS STRANGE EXPOSURES
Smiles Meyer (They/Them. b. 1996, San Diego) is a lens based artist that lives and works in Los Angeles, California. Meyer’s work emerges from the dissonance of their Trans identity in relation to their conservative, Catholic upbringing. Through their provocative, unapologetic, and deeply personal compositions, Meyer locates photography as a conduit for connection. Their recent projects have included Queer Last Super / The First Gather (2024), a raunchy recreation of the biblical scene with all Queer subjects costumed in expressive garb and Cold Hearted Fruit (2024), a maximalist exploration of the carabiner, an iconographic material signal of Queerness in contemporary culture. This referential practice is also present in their first solo exhibition, What Do You See in Me (2023), which presented double exposed photographs that layer inkblots akin to the psychological examination, The Rorschach Test, over emotive portraits. Meyer’s desire to facilitate refuge through creative work also extends to their intimate documentation of the year following their father’s death as materialized by their self-published photography book, My Dad Died I Don’t Want to Talk About It (2022).
Self expression and unification rests at the backbone of Meyer’s creative prerogative. They bring this outlook to their work across fine art, commercial, and entertainment photography. Meyer revisits the premise of religious “communion” that permeated their childhood and offers artistic narratives that allows themself, their community, and hopeful onlookers to see and be seen.