Photographer Irem Harnak Challenges Gender Boundaries with the "Made this Way" Project

TORONTO - March 2, 2017 - PRLog -- Internationally renowned fashion photographer Irem Harnak, who has become known for her work on a number of striking editorials and fashion stories featured in high profile magazines such as Marie Claire, Fashion and 1968 Magazine, is defying gender boundaries and society's traditional standard of beauty with the "Made This Way" project.

A high impact photo-based transmedia project, "Made This Way" uses the art of photography to tell ordinary people's real life stories of transitioning and challenging gender norms. For the "Made This Way" project, Harnak focuses on capturing transgender and non-binary individuals in their homes, places where they feel most comfortable and doing the things they love in general.

According to Harnak, the "Made this Way" project is "aimed at documenting various transgender individuals in their own element, what makes them who they are? How do they spend their weekend, what do they do? What are their hobbies? Do they like animals? Do they play sports? Do they have dates?" She adds, "My aim is to capture personal moments, the uniqueness of each individual."

Overall, Harnak seeks to explore what it means to be a transgender individual from an authentic, human-to-human perspective detached from the sensationalized celebrity versions we often see in mainstream media.

"I have always been an outsider wherever I am, never being able to conform to the ordinary. I have been drawn to the experiences of individuals who challenge social norms and capturing them through photography," explains photographer Irem Harnak.

Since creating the ongoing project in summer 2016, Harnak has shot transgender individuals from all walks of life. She is currently working towards turning the project into a book, as well as having the first "Made This Way" exhibition later this year. "Made This Way" is also being considered for inclusion in Nuit Rose, an annual festival of queer-focused art and performance that takes place in June during Toronto Pride.

Last year Harnak shot the members of Brooklyn Boihood, a New York-based queer and trans collective that organizes parties, workshops and retreats with the main mission of uniting the trans community and creating a safe space for bois to be themselves.

"I loved how comfortable they are in their skin, how they are the epitome of 'being cool'," said Harnak about shooting the Brooklyn Boihood founders.

The most intriguing part of Harnak's work on this project, as well as most of the portraits she shoots, is the way she manages to capture her subject's personality-- it is as if she opens a small portal, a peephole for viewers to peer into her subject's life and see that which is beyond the surface.

"I have always been interested in photographing people. I see fashion photography as a very artistic way of photographing charismatic and interesting looking people and styles. I have never been interested in fashion as for fashion sake but have been drawn to individuals' styles as a way of representing themselves," explains Harnak. "I am more and more interested in creating narratives through photography, which is what I'm trying to achieve with personal projects."

Early on in her career Harnak gained international attention for a black and white photo series she created of a group of handsome male models preparing for a fashion show. Her work was recognized by Photo District News and the photography community at large when she was chosen as the Merit Winner of PDN's "The Look" competition for the stunning series. Considering that PDN, an award-winning magazine, has been the go-to source of information for professional photographers across the globe for nearly two decades, being chosen by their judges as the Merit Winner of "The Look" instantly boosted Harnak's reputation in the eyes of her contemporaries.

While her career as a fashion photographer has definitely drawn audiences around the world to take note, she continues to tackle more politically driven concepts with her work-- sometimes even blending these concepts into her fashion photography.

Harnak's latest fashion story titled "Genderless" is currently being featured on Design Scene (http://www.designscene.net/2017/02/genderless-irem-harnak...).

"This is a fashion story where we styled two up-and-coming it girls with mostly menswear and oversized pieces to create genderless, fun and interesting looks. The story is shot in studio," explains Harnak.

For the editorial Harnak captured models Miriam and Christina from B and M Model Management, looking tough as nails in a gender neutral wardrobe styled by Ashley Galang, who's styled editorials shoots for Vogue Italia Online, Bonbon and other high-profile outlets.

Up next on Harnak's agenda is shooting the executives of Raindance, a group she's collaborated with on multiple occasions in the past.

Raindance creative director Tiska Wiedermann says, "Irem Harnak's lens presents an edgy, unique beauty in both fashion and film. She gets the shots we need at creative industry events, and also makes stunning studio portraits for our corporate marketing and that's why we hire her."

The Raindance Film Festival is the largest and most important independent film festival in the UK, known for hosting the UK premieres of such notable films as "What's Eating Gilbert Grape," "The Blair Witch Project," "Dead Man's Shoes," "Memento," "Humpday," "Love Exposure," "Ghost World," "Capturing the Friedmans," "Down Terrace," "I Origins" and "Old Boy."


To find out more visit:

Made This Way: https://www.facebook.com/madethiswayproject/?ref=py_c

Irem Harnak: http://iremharnak.com/