Petra Collins

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. 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.

Euphoria controversy

At the invitation of Sam Levinson, Collins moved to Los Angeles in 2018/2019 to work on HBO series Euphoria. Collins stated that Levinson told her "I wrote a show based on your photos. Will you direct it?", and spent 5 months developing the series with Levinson, including casting principle actors, before being dismissed for being "too young" to direct.

Collins stated that the worst thing "was when people were unknowingly saying this show looks like your photos", referring to the heavily stylized look of Euphoria. Even before Collins revealed her version of events, reviewers of Euphoria pointed out the similarities between the work.

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

References

1. "CV".
2. Widdicombe, Lizzie. (October 6, 2016). "The Female Gaze of Petra Collins".
3. Wilson, Sophie. (October 7, 2021). "The Legacy of Rookie Mag, Ten Years Later".
4. Zedan, Natasha. (November 23, 2015). "PETRA COLLINS: me, myself, and iphone".
5. "Olivia Rodrigo - good 4 u (Official Video)".
6. Blasberg, Derek. (January 5, 2017). "How "It Girl" Petra Collins Went from Ballet to Behind the Camera".
7. (May 19, 2012). "Going back to school with teenage fashion photography phenom Petra Collins".
8. (December 29, 2013). "People to Watch: Petra Collins looks through lens of next-wave feminism – Toronto Star".
9. Bauck, Whitney. (March 1, 2017). "How Petra Collins Went From Failing High School To Photographing For Gucci".
10. (November 21, 2013). "Ryan McGinley, the Pied Piper of the Downtown Art World". The New York Times.
11. (2013-10-17). "Why Instagram Censored My Body".
12. (2013-10-20). "Petra Collins On Censorship And The Female Body {{!}} Fashion Magazine {{!}} News. Fashion. Beauty. Music. {{!}} oystermag.com".
13. (2014-02-28). "See: 'Discharge,' Petra Collins's First Solo Exhibition". The Cut.
14. Cooper, Ashton. (December 27, 2014). "Art Books We Loved In 2014".
15. (2015). "Babe". Prestel Verlag.
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".
18. (April 13, 2016). "30 Emerging Artists to Watch This Spring".
19. "Instagram post by Petra Collins • Apr 17, 2017 at 3:11pm UTC".
20. Gharnit, Yasmeen. (February 3, 2015). "Go Behind The Scenes Of Petra Collins' New Film 'Making Space'".
21. Cardi B. (2018-04-02). "Cardi B – Bartier Cardi (feat. 21 Savage) [Official Video]".
22. "Films • Petra Collins".
23. https://decider.com/2023/09/15/photographer-petra-collins-claims-created-whole-world-euphoria-before-fired-hbo-sam-levinson-used-ideas-anyway/
24. https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-features/euphoria-tragedy-trauma-1235953050/
25. https://uploads.dailydot.com/2023/09/Screenshot-2023-09-13-at-11.25.20-AM.png?auto=compress&fm=png
26. https://cardiffstudentmedia.co.uk/quench/film-tv/review-euphoria/
27. https://www.dazeddigital.com/art-photography/article/47080/1/petra-collins-on-the-turn-of-tumblr-feminism-to-corporate-capitalism?
28. "Watch: Calvin Klein's CK One x Petra Collins x Dev Hynes x Ali Michael & More – Fashion Magazine – News. Fashion. Beauty. Music. – oystermag.com".
29. 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".
30. Yotka, Steff. (April 2016). "Petra Collins Cements Her Status as Gucci's New Muse".
31. (February 22, 2014). "Discharge • Petra Collins".
32. Magazine, W. (June 28, 2015). "What a Babe".
33. (November 24, 2021). "Enter the World of Petra Collins and Alexa Demie's Eerie, Erotic 'Fairy Tales'".
34. (November 30, 2021). "Petra Collins & Alexa Demie Conjure an Erotic Fantasy in 'Fairy Tales'".
35. Lampe, Lilly. (March 11, 2014). "Zeroing In On Adolescent Girlhood, Petra Collins Shoots From the Hip".
36. Peoples, Landon. (January 27, 2015). "Petra Collins' Film Debut: Drive Time".
37. Mcneely, Jen. (November 12, 2015). "Watch Break a Sweat: A film by Petra Collins for Adidas Stella Sport".
38. Felsenthal, Julia. (July 18, 2016). "Petra Collins Remixes Georgia O'Keeffe for the Tate Modern".
39. Mandel, Leah. (July 20, 2016). "This Is What Making A Movie With Lil Yachty Is Like".
40. Stegemoeller, Kristen. (February 24, 2017). "Watch Petra Collins' Dreamy New Film For Gucci".
41. Paloma Parker, Odessa. (April 17, 2017). "Through The Vulnerable Celestial Lens Of Petra Collins".
42. Nesvig, Kara K.. (June 21, 2018). "Selena Gomez Made a Short Horror Movie With Petra Collins Called "A Love Story"".
43. Kroll, Justin. (2021-04-29). "Selena Gomez To Star in Petra Collins' 'Spiral' For Picturestart; Drake Exec Producing; Package Being Shopped by Endeavor Content".
44. (December 12, 2012). "Trust - "Heaven" (Official Video)".
45. Oseran, Anna. (April 8, 2016). "Petra Collins On Directing Carly Rae Jepsen's "Boy Problems" Video".
46. (July 7, 2017). "Dance feat. Blood Orange".
47. Jones, Daisy. (August 5, 2016). "Lil Yachty Brings Out the Whole Squad in His New Video For "All In"".
48. Cirisano, Tatiana. (July 24, 2017). "Selena Gomez Drops Flurry of 'Fetish' Video Teasers Before Wednesday Release".
49. Tashjian, Rachel. (April 3, 2018). "Director Petra Collins on Cardi B Playing a Lush Goddess in "Bartier Cardi"".
50. Shaffer, Claire. (May 14, 2021). "Olivia Rodrigo Shares Petra Collins-Directed 'Good 4 U' Video".
51. Dodson, P. Claire. (August 23, 2021). "Olivia Rodrigo's "brutal" MV Has Cameos From Nico Hiraga, Lukas Gage".
52. Madarang, Charisma. (June 28, 2023). "Olivia Rodrigo Shares Sneak Peek of Moody 'Vampire' Video".
53. Minsker, Evan. (August 11, 2023). "Watch Olivia Rodrigo's Video for New Song 'Bad Idea Right?'".