Today we’d like to introduce you to Kenedee Hodges.
Kenedee, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
The first memory I have of making an image starts with a Samsung flip-up keyboard phone. I took an image of a building and my mom absolutely LOVED this picture. She raved about how talented I was and how much she loved this image.
I had known always that I had a fondness for creating visual imagery. But from that point on, I believed I had an eye for capturing images.
I got my first DSLR on my 16th birthday. I was so excited to have my own camera! I spent my time in high school taking photographs of my friends (mostly at night), local bands that I knew, and flowers. I felt so passionate about capturing colors in all kinds of situations. In high school, I thought of photography as just a hobby. It wasn’t until I met a British art teacher that encouraged me to study photography at college that really helped me realize I wanted to spend the rest of my life making images. After this, I started subconsciously putting together a small portfolio of all the work I had created when I was in high school—which I eventually submitted to the Savannah College of Art and Design.
I got accepted, which was monumental for me! I started attending SCAD in the Fall of 2016. I felt so inspired and creative in my new environment—I was surrounded by other young people that loved art, had a passion for creating, and I had newfound resources for unlimited creativity and expression. I began making photographs about the relationship between gender and femininity and masculinity. Mostly, at this point, I just wanted everything to be very pretty and visually pleasing. I found a love for making handmade books and displaying my photographs in this format.
Sophomore year was when I started really coming into myself as an artist. I had finally learned how to use lighting equipment in the studio, which I had been itching to do for as long as I can remember. I connected with many beautiful people through social media and invited them to come into the studio. This is when I created my MYTHS series, where I found inspiration in Greek mythology and the characters that were involved in the myths. Mostly the women inspired me, which is how the image of my interpretation of Aphrodite, the Goddess of Love, was born! During this time, I was still interested in the idea of femininity—but I also found a lot of inspiration in romance. I had always wanted to shoot a very stereotypical Valentine’s Day concept but with my own special twist. In the Winter of 2018, I created my very first romance series: Romantics. In the Spring of 2018, I found a lot of inspiration in fashion, movement, and saturated colors. I shot my first ever lookbook for a fashion designer at SCAD—The Dionne designed by Faith Mallory.
During the spring, I was going through a particularly bad spell with body dissatisfaction. Some eating irregularities that I hadn’t dealt with in over five years had resurfaced. I started going to therapy for some aid in dealing with the body dissatisfaction I was dealing with. I uncovered a lot about myself, my childhood, and how growing up fat really impacted my adult life. I started paying attention to the connection I had with my work, the people and places that surrounded me in both my family and my everyday environment. I really felt disheartened by the fact that I wasn’t feeling connected to my work and had a yearning to physically start touching my work again. I recklessly bought the cheapest 35mm film camera I could find in Atlanta and started shooting color film. I started documenting the people I was with, the situations I was in, and the places I frequently visited. I shot about four rolls of film throughout the months of April and May—which is not a lot in the grand scheme of things—but I was only allowing myself to shoot one to two frames of each separate thing I was photographing. When I got the first rolls developed, I was so taken aback by the work that I had created when I wasn’t able to obsess over making photographs perfect. The colors were beautiful, and I felt much more connected to these photographs I was creating. Like I mentioned earlier, I have an affinity for making handmade books. These images I collected in the Spring eventually came together as my second handmade book, this time with handwritten text, titled (Occurrences).
This brings us to the current day: Junior year. I am currently focusing my energy in school on creating some very personal, emotional work about body dysmorphia. I found myself in a very curious state, wanting to learn more about these feelings I was having towards my body and my eating habits. I am currently working on a project called A Certain Fixation that focuses on visualizing the mental process that goes on when I’m dealing with body dysmorphia, intimacy, and the complexity of being a queer and plus-size person. This project isn’t quite finished and might not be finished for a while (as you can imagine, this emotional art process can be very tolling). In my free time, I am journaling in my new sketchbook dedicated to just all kinds of thoughts I’m having, reading books and blogs about women/queer/minorities experiences in all kinds of settings, researching a lot about musicians in the 70s/80s/90s who toyed with masculinity/femininity in clothing/performance and sexuality, brainstorming some new ideas for the winter and shooting film here and there.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Mostly the challenges I’ve had in my journey have been financial. I grew up in a family mostly where we were just getting by, with not very much money to spend on luxuries. I also mentioned earlier some of the struggles I faced growing up fat, which has also been sort of a burden but sort of a blessing in my journey—I’ve really learned how to handle and battle fat shaming. And of course, I have faced misogyny and sexism in the photography field, often having to deal with men with huge egos and lots of equipment treating me like I am lesser because I am a woman and typically have a lot of questions.
We’d love to hear more about your work?
I am mostly a freelance photographer, working in plus-size retail on the side. I forgot to mention that I specialize in working with cosmetic and beauty products. I photograph and retouch products very professionally. I would also say that I specialize in plus-size fashion. My brand isn’t very developed yet, but after college, I will find a place where I can collaborate with cosmetic brands hopefully in some creative, conceptual ways. I think that I have found a way to set myself apart from others in the way that I carry myself, my work, and the way I create images!
Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
My ability to relate and conversate with others is one of my favorite characteristics about myself. I involve myself in many communities, meet so many new people, and can walk up to basically anyone and have an interesting conversation. I love to meet people, in person and online and I have met so many important people this way!
I am also very proud of the variety of work I can create. I can shoot film, I can composite an image seamlessly in photoshop, I can document people and places, and I can even create physical art by hand. I think being well-versed in everything is something to be very proud of!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.behance.net/kenedeehodges
- Email: kenedeehodges@gmail.com
- Instagram: @kenedeehodges
- Other: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kenedee-hodges-a7821b161/
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