While peering through the viewfinder of her camera, Alexandra Gilliams thinks of a composition similar to that of a painting: in vivid colors, shadows, shapes, and textures. Shooting primarily portraits of her friends or creatives who inspire her on 35mm and 120mm film, she enjoys experimenting with colors and light, and in-camera with long and multiple exposures. She also has shot fashion photography for clients at New York and Paris Fashion Week. In addition to her environmental and fashion portraiture, she has always found interest in the power of photographs that turn ordinary objects into works of art, namely those of William Eggleston, Garry Winogrand, or Ed van der Elsken. She carries around an Olympus 35mm point-and-shoot with her for these kinds of unpredictable and compelling moments.

She graduated from Parsons the New School of Design in New York City with a Bachelor’s of Fine Art in Photography and is currently studying in Paris, France for her Master’s degree in museum administration, and is focusing on a career in museology. She believes that as viewers, we have the incredible ability while reading an artists’ biography or looking at one of their paintings to pull away our subjective interpretations, and wonder about the questions artists may have asked themselves. Questions such as what they want their work to do, and those of their desires, lifestyle, interpretation of reality, and overall, how they were able to construct their own worlds. In her career, she hopes to have a hand in creating accessible exhibitions to benefit the public and raise questions, as well as assist artists by providing them with a platform and advancement in their careers.