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Petra Collins (born December 21, 1992) is a Canadian artist, director of photography, fashion model and actress who rose to prominence in the early 2010s. Her photography is characterized by a feminine, dreamlike feel, informed in part by a female gaze approach. She was a resident photographer for Rookie magazine and a casting agent for Richard Kern. She has also directed a number of short films, including music videos for Carly Rae Jepsen, Lil Yachty, Selena Gomez, Cardi B, and Olivia Rodrigo. She directed the music video for Rodrigo's song "Good 4 U", which as of June 2023 has amassed over 400 million views on YouTube. In 2016, Collins was chosen as a face of Gucci. She has been labeled an "it girl" by photographer and mentor Ryan McGinley and by Vanity Fair and The New Yorker magazines.

Early life and education

Collins was raised in Toronto, where she attended Rosedale Heights School of the Arts. It was at Rosedale at the age of 15, Collins began practicing the art of photography. Collins attended Ontario College of Art and Design for two years to study artistic criticism and curatorial practice.

In a Fashionista feature, Collins revealed that she had a hard senior year in high school, having difficulties at home lead her to routinely skip school and ultimately failing her senior year. She turned it around however, by moving to a different method of learning which pointed her in the direction that would bring her career to fruition. After entering an alternative school, she was able to connect with an arts teacher that allowed her to find the creative guidance and freedom that she needed to begin publishing work, which she did shortly thereafter.

Early career

Collins began taking pictures in high school. She met Richard Kern while assisting him on a shoot, and he became her mentor. Simultaneously, Collins became a frequent subject of the photographer Ryan McGinley, and would go on to become one of his proteges. Collins began venturing into the art world, appearing in shows that featured her own work, and curating shows featuring her art collective, The Ardorous. Coinciding with the time of Collins's rising success in the art world, her Instagram account was removed from the platform after the artist posted a photo of herself unwaxed in a bikini. Following the removal of her account, Collins wrote an essay for Oyster Magazine, later republished in The Huffington Post, speaking out against the misogyny which informs media depictions of women's bodies. In 2014, Collins' first solo exhibition, "Discharge", a photo series spanning between 2008 and 2014, from ages 15–21, was hosted at the Capricious 88 Gallery in New York. Collins went on to publish the photo series as a book with Capricious Publishing in 2014.

Art and photography

In 2010, Collins created the website "The Ardorous" as an online platform for young female artists. Reacting to the male-dominated art world, the group's goal is to question contemporary ideologies of femininity and recast women in positive, empowered roles. Collins has also edited a book called Babe with a foreword by Tavi Gevinson, which is a culmination of over 30 international artists selected by Petra.

In 2016, Collins was named one of Dazed & Calvin Klein's 100 Creatives Shaping Youth Culture and one of Vogue's 40 Creatives To Watch in 2016. Collins was also named one of 30 Artists to Watch by Artsy.

Collins hosted her first public art piece with Contact Photo on April 29, 2017, at King and Spadina in Toronto, Canada. She completed her first featured narrative film in 2021.

Directing

In 2015, she directed a three-part documentary series entitled Making Space, which documents and explores what it means to be a young person in today's constantly changing, hyperconnected world. Other projects Collins has directed include Carly Rae Jepsen's music video for her 2015 single "Boy Problems", Cardi B's 2018 single "Bartier Cardi" and Olivia Rodrigo's 2021 single "Good 4 U" and "brutal". She has also directed advertisements for Gucci, Adidas, and Nordstrom.

Modeling and acting

In 2014 and 2015, Collins was cast in a supporting role in Amazon's award-winning TV series, Transparent.

Collins has previously been featured as a model in Calvin Klein's campaign.

In 2016, Petra was tapped as a new face of Gucci, and walked in their 2016 F/W Fashion Show in Milan. She also starred in their 2016 F/W campaign.

Literary work

Collins' first book, Discharge, was published by Capricious Publishing. The series was first an exhibition of the same name, hosted at the Capricious 88 gallery.

Her second book, Babe, an art and photography collection featuring the work of thirty female artists from around the world, including her own, was published in 2015 by Random House.

In a collaboration with Euphoria star Alexa Demie, who she first met via Instagram in 2020, Collins and Demie released an erotic photography book that reimagined fairy tales from their childhood through an erotic lens. The 152-page hardbound book collected nine different short tales accompanied by images of Demie dressed up as different mythical beings, was released by Rizzoli on November 30, 2021.

Process

When shooting photography, Collins exclusively uses 35mm film.

Filmography

Film

Television

Music videos

References

1. "CV". Petra Collins. Archived from the original on January 1, 2019. Retrieved February 2, 2013.
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3. Wilson, Sophie (October 7, 2021). "The Legacy of Rookie Mag, Ten Years Later". Teen Vogue. Archived from the original on October 7, 2021. Retrieved September 18, 2023.
4. Zedan, Natasha (November 23, 2015). "PETRA COLLINS: me, myself, and iphone". Musée Magazine. Archived from the original on September 18, 2023. Retrieved September 18, 2023.
5. Olivia Rodrigo - good 4 u (Official Video), retrieved June 29, 2023
6. Blasberg, Derek (January 5, 2017). "How "It Girl" Petra Collins Went from Ballet to Behind the Camera". Vanity Fair. Archived from the original on January 9, 2017. Retrieved September 18, 2023.
7. ^ "Going back to school with teenage fashion photography phenom Petra Collins". National Post. May 19, 2012. Retrieved February 2, 2024.
8. "People to Watch: Petra Collins looks through lens of next-wave feminism – Toronto Star". Toronto Star. December 29, 2013.
9. Bauck, Whitney (March 1, 2017). "How Petra Collins Went From Failing High School To Photographing For Gucci". Fashionista. Retrieved February 2, 2024.
10. "Ryan McGinley, the Pied Piper of the Downtown Art World". The New York Times. November 21, 2013.
11. "Why Instagram Censored My Body". HuffPost. October 17, 2013. Retrieved December 15, 2022.
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13. "See: 'Discharge,' Petra Collins's First Solo Exhibition". The Cut. February 28, 2014. Retrieved April 24, 2017.
14. ^ Cooper, Ashton (December 27, 2014). "Art Books We Loved In 2014". Artnet. Archived from the original on April 17, 2018. Retrieved September 18, 2023.
15. Collins, Petra (2015). Babe. Prestel Verlag. ISBN 978-3-7913-8103-9.
16. Dazed (February 8, 2016). "Petra Collins".
17. ^ Jansson, Mark Guiducci, Mikael (December 16, 2015). "Be Yourself! 44 Stars-to-Watch Wear Spring Fashion Their Way".{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
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20. ^ Gharnit, Yasmeen (February 3, 2015). "Go Behind The Scenes Of Petra Collins' New Film 'Making Space'". Nylon. Archived from the original on February 7, 2015. Retrieved September 19, 2023.
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24. Piercy, Mackenzie Wagoner, Catherine (February 24, 2016). "Petra Collins on Walking in Gucci's Fall Show—And How Those Fuzzy Red Curls Became Her Signature".{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
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28. Hess, Liam (November 24, 2021). "Enter the World of Petra Collins and Alexa Demie's Eerie, Erotic 'Fairy Tales'". Vogue. Archived from the original on April 23, 2022. Retrieved March 15, 2022.
29. Wally, Maxine (November 30, 2021). "Petra Collins & Alexa Demie Conjure an Erotic Fantasy in 'Fairy Tales'". W. Archived from the original on January 19, 2022. Retrieved March 15, 2022.
30. Lampe, Lilly (March 11, 2014). "Zeroing In On Adolescent Girlhood, Petra Collins Shoots From the Hip". Village Voice. Archived from the original on March 13, 2014. Retrieved March 13, 2014.
31. Peoples, Landon (January 27, 2015). "Petra Collins' Film Debut: Drive Time". Nylon. Archived from the original on February 2, 2015.
32. Mcneely, Jen (November 12, 2015). "Watch Break a Sweat: A film by Petra Collins for Adidas Stella Sport". She Does The City. Archived from the original on November 19, 2015. Retrieved September 19, 2023.
33. Felsenthal, Julia (July 18, 2016). "Petra Collins Remixes Georgia O'Keeffe for the Tate Modern". Vogue. Archived from the original on October 29, 2020. Retrieved September 19, 2023.
34. Mandel, Leah (July 20, 2016). "This Is What Making A Movie With Lil Yachty Is Like". The Fader. Archived from the original on July 21, 2016. Retrieved September 19, 2023.
35. Stegemoeller, Kristen (February 24, 2017). "Watch Petra Collins' Dreamy New Film For Gucci". Paper. Archived from the original on September 19, 2023. Retrieved September 19, 2023.
36. Paloma Parker, Odessa (April 17, 2017). "Through The Vulnerable Celestial Lens Of Petra Collins". The Globe and Mail. Archived from the original on May 14, 2017. Retrieved September 19, 2023.
37. Nesvig, Kara K. (June 21, 2018). "Selena Gomez Made a Short Horror Movie With Petra Collins Called "A Love Story"". Teen Vogue. Archived from the original on August 11, 2020.
38. Kroll, Justin (April 29, 2021). "Selena Gomez To Star in Petra Collins' 'Spiral' For Picturestart; Drake Exec Producing; Package Being Shopped by Endeavor Content". Deadline. Retrieved September 4, 2021.
39. "Trust - "Heaven" (Official Video)". Noisey. December 12, 2012. Archived from the original on March 14, 2014. Retrieved September 19, 2023.
40. Oseran, Anna (April 8, 2016). "Petra Collins On Directing Carly Rae Jepsen's "Boy Problems" Video". Genius. Archived from the original on April 11, 2016. Retrieved September 19, 2023.
41. "Dance feat. Blood Orange". Nowness. July 7, 2017. Retrieved September 19, 2023.
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43. Cirisano, Tatiana (July 24, 2017). "Selena Gomez Drops Flurry of 'Fetish' Video Teasers Before Wednesday Release". Billboard. Archived from the original on April 28, 2022. Retrieved September 19, 2023.
44. Tashjian, Rachel (April 3, 2018). "Director Petra Collins on Cardi B Playing a Lush Goddess in "Bartier Cardi"". Garage Magazine. Archived from the original on November 10, 2018. Retrieved September 19, 2023.
45. Shaffer, Claire (May 14, 2021). "Olivia Rodrigo Shares Petra Collins-Directed 'Good 4 U' Video". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on May 16, 2021. Retrieved September 19, 2023.
46. Dodson, P. Claire (August 23, 2021). "Olivia Rodrigo's "brutal" MV Has Cameos From Nico Hiraga, Lukas Gage". Teen Vogue. Archived from the original on August 23, 2021. Retrieved September 19, 2023.
47. Madarang, Charisma (June 28, 2023). "Olivia Rodrigo Shares Sneak Peek of Moody 'Vampire' Video". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on June 28, 2023. Retrieved June 29, 2023.
48. Minsker, Evan (August 11, 2023). "Watch Olivia Rodrigo's Video for New Song 'Bad Idea Right?'". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on September 12, 2023. Retrieved September 19, 2023.

External links

• Petra Collins at IMDb

• 1992 births
• Artists from Toronto
• Canadian erotic photographers
• Canadian music video directors
• Canadian photographers
• Canadian women photographers
• Female music video directors
• Living people