Chosen Blood by Katie Koti

Issue 45

My current body of work, Chosen Blood is an ongoing exploration that brings to light familial aspects of the human experience and the intricate ties formed with others; the bonds between blood and chosen blood. This project explores the intimacy and truths of the body and spirit; innate and extrinsic attractions and behaviors. The closeness of this family is rare. My photographs strive to celebrate this closeness, their wildness, their innocence, their energy, their vulnerability.

My photographs liberate myself and viewers from the restraints, boundaries, and rules of life. I choose photography because it allows me to do things that I couldn’t normally do. Since I was a child I have felt trapped by the confines of everything from my clothing, to my body, to social expectations and gender binaries. As an artist I am able to create worlds that allow me to escape from these confines, worlds illustrating my dreams, my fears, my realities and my fantasies. I challenge the domestic roles we are expected to play, contrasting one’s spirit inside the home with the unleashing of our suppressed animal graces in nature.

Much of the potency of my work thrives on ambiguity. Whether it be the ambiguity of someone’s identity or gender, or of an act-taking place, I strive to make images that leave you asking questions rather than give you the answers. I create romanticized narratives to further push ideas of what is believable versus surreal. The shifting aesthetic of the landscape teetering between the beautiful and the sublime combined with the blurring of meaning asks the viewer to walk the edge between reality and fiction.

Katie Koti is a Northampton, MA based photographer.
To view more of Katie's work, please visit her website.