Harley Weir X Beauty Papers
The book’s theme is the body, beauty, the artifice of artificial representation of women (and people) and the desire to be desired. It is extremely, ultra-enjoyably, visually impactful. Elements of body horror are shot through genuine beauty. It’s not pretty, but it is pretty shocking. Over 208 pages, Harley illustrates every aspect of her aesthetic. It changes the way you see.
There is a wonderfully written piece provided for the book by the legendary Charlotte Cotton. Entitled The Exquisite Corpse, Charlotte weaves conversations she has had with various artists – Guinevere van Seenus, Amalia Soto, Justine Kurland among them – into one dramatised text with stage directions by Asher Hartman.
Father
IDEA
Harley Weir explores paternity and the archetypal male through a kaleidoscopic fever dream in Father, published by IDEA in June 2019. Described as a study in desire, Father is a 176-page photo book filled with portraits, nudes, still-lifes and full body photograms.
“It’s hard to know what you fully desire as a woman when almost everything sexual you have seen was made by a man. I always wanted to make the kind of things that I found sexy so I could feel that desire was mine too.”
Harley Weir
Fashion Eye Iran
Louis Vuitton
Visiting Iran for the Louis Vuitton Fashion Eye collection, London-born photographer Harley Weir falls under the spell of its natural beauty and the extraordinary hospitality of its people. The product of nuanced observation, her images require no commentary. She reinvents Persian miniatures and, by moving in close, attempts to make sense of the world, seizing on seemingly innocuous details to illuminate her work.
Homes
Loose Joints
Published by Loose Joints in 2016, Homes by Harley Weir captures photographs taken during October 2016 at the refugee camps in Calais, France. With all proceeds going to La Cimade, a French charity committed to protecting the rights of migrants, the book was aimed at bringing light to the crisis, whilst also showing the moments of beauty that can be found in even the harshest of environments, and our intrinsic desire to make the best of what we have.
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