Luis Pedro de Castro
Prince of Turkey
2009
Series Statement: This photo was taken on a shoot with a dress made out of meters of different ties, and it's inspired by a multi-cultural array of traditional garments from Turkey, Spain and Portugal combined into a piece that can transform itself and give birth to a gender / queer-empowering interpretation of traditional values. This dress piece, called "Almond Tree, The Dress of Presence, " was made by Milen Nae from Istanbul, and was presented at the Italian competition in Milan, where it won second place. Even though the piece is called "Prince of Turkey," Clau - the model in the photo - is a female-bodied individual.
While studying photography in Barcelona, Luis Pedro de Castro dedicated himself to the portrayal of gender fluid interpretations in post-porn theory and performance. He began manipulating his photographs using digital software to achieve an aesthetic inspired by Renaissance painting and as a way to create visual consistency from photos taken with multiple cameras that he borrows from friends.