Though known for shooting other subjects (SOPHIE, Karen Elson, and Billie Eilish, to name a few), a new exhibition finds photographer Lea Colombo turning the lens on herself. The Cape Town-born, London-based artist is known for her high-saturation work on film, and her inaugural exhibition, Colours of My Body, is a bold exploration of feminine energy, spirituality, and the divine self via mixed media.
Colours of My Body focuses on Colombo’s relationship with her higher self, through use of vivid colour, light, and energy. The solo exhibition, which is currently showing at SPACEBY in Cape Town and Terminal 27 in LA, includes more than 44 original dark room prints, plus bronze and stone sculptures, lighting, and even furniture.
Influenced by spiritual energies and auras, as well as the yin and yang of masculine and feminine energy, Colombo’s intimate self-portraits are overlayed with sketching, paint, and wax, while her sculptures draw on the symbolism of ancient African and Indian stones.
In line with the show, Colombo has released a fragrance collection tapping into the duality of the masculine and feminine, with two bespoke scents made in collaboration with conceptual perfume house Folie À Plusieurs. ‘Feminine’ scent 111hz is associated with the colour green and has notes of elemi (a resin with anti-inflammatory properties), tarragon, basil, lavender, sage, and frankincense. While 222hz is the ‘masculine’ fragrance, associated with the colour red, and features immortelle absolute, geranium, lemon, oakwood, rose, and more.
Lea Colombo is looking for three young emerging artists to join her for a private dinner on October 8 in Cape Town. She will spend the afternoon with them before dinner, talking through her work process, and offering feedback on each artist’s practice. If you’d like to apply, drop a comment on this Instagram post, or check out the AMA on our stories where you can also submit a request.
Colours of My Body is now showing at SPACEBY in Cape Town and Terminal 27 in Los Angeles