Downtown Divas: The real “Heroin Chic”?
updated the 6 October 2015 à 23:37
Take a look at these mesmerising, far-from-glamorous snaps by artists, Loral Amir and Gigi Ben Artzi – created to highlight real-life heroin addicts.
Artists, Loral Amir and Gigi Ben Artzi presented portraits of Russian prostitutes who are also heroin addicts in a short film and photo series entitled “Downtown Divas”. For the occasion, the addicts were dressed in luxury fashion brands, such as Louis Vuitton, Alexander Wang and Miu Miu, among others.
The goal of the series was to highlight the real lives of heroin addicts, compared with made-up glamorous photos of thin models with dark circles under their eyes, as would be showcased in fashion magazines. Of course, this so-called “Heroin Chic” style carries some similar characteristics to actual drug addicts. However, as Loral Amir says: “When you actually take real drug addicts and dress them in top fashion, the contrast is astounding…The shooting was not easy as they are all high on heroin and totally unstable because of their dependency on the drug… They were like zombies.”
Beyond that, the artists wanted to show a different side to these women, by asking questions about their dreams, life, desires and so on, but never about their drug addiction. As Gigi underlines, “I was surprised by the fact that even though these women are in a very bad place, both mentally and physically, they are still very sensitive and have the same dreams and hopes as ordinary women do. They live in a parallel universe: Living dead. Transparent. Their background stories are also very painful”.
Far from the glamorous lives of Kate Moss and company, the drug addicts’ emaciated appearance, damaged skin and murky life, rightfully unveiled in this series, provide a stark reminder of the real-life experiences of addicts.
Watch the video here:
Lindsay POUI-DI
