Meet Nora Benjamin

We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Nora Benjamin. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Nora below.

Nora, so excited to have you with us today. So much we can chat about, but one of the questions we are most interested in is how you have managed to keep your creativity alive.

To nurture my creativity, I focus on staying engaged with photography, even during times when I’m not actively creating photographs or collages. I allocate time to read about photography and related topics that inform my art practice. Additionally, I participate in a critique group formed with a few of my fellow photo friends, which fosters ongoing discussion and inspiration. This consistent immersion in both photography and the topics I speak about in my work helps me avoid creative blocks, so when I do feel inspired to create, I find it easier to get started.

Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?

I am an experimental photographer and collagist currently based in Chicago! In my photographs and collages, I use a visual language heavily influenced by surrealism. My work often explores themes of delirium, hyperconsumerism, and identity. I experiment with color, distorted perspectives, and other techniques to create imagery that evokes a sense of a dream-like state. My work challenges viewers to consider how modern culture distorts reality and shapes our perception.

I am currently working on a body of work entitled ‘Terms & Conditions’ which I began in 2022. Terms & Conditions is a series of photographs and collages that interpret the relationship between social media use, the negative implications of excessive e-consumerism in beauty markets, and the Internet’s obsession with the pursuit of beauty. Through this series, I am reflecting on the continuous trend cycle that colored my early online experiences and its looming presence in the contemporary social media landscape. By photographing and collaging my own beauty products, I am identifying myself as an active participant in the mania of trend-following. Thus, Terms & Conditions functions as the self-reflective examination of an insider and not a detached critical response. I experiment with the rules of advertising photography as a way to situate this work as an analog to the e-beauty market. In order to subvert these conventions, I digitally colorize and distort my black-and-white photographs and collages. These interventions mimic the highly constructed nature of online identity and reinterpret the beauty product as an idol to be worshiped and feared.

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?

My strong desire to learn everything I could about photography truly benefited me at the start of my career. I aimed to engage with the medium in various ways, whether it involved making photograms in the darkroom, shooting in a studio, or taking a camera with me on my daily walks. This eagerness to learn during those early days contributed significantly to my growth as a photographer. I didn’t yet have the self limiting belief that I should or could only work one way; I only knew that I wanted to constantly make photographs no matter the process.
This brings me to the second quality that has greatly assisted me on my journey: open-mindedness. Being receptive to feedback from various mentors along the way has allowed me to broaden my perspective, not only on photography but also on life itself.
Ultimately, I’ve adopted a personal motto of saying yes to nearly every opportunity that comes my way, even though I understand that embarking on new journeys can be intimidating. I’ve found that these new experiences often pave the way for valuable professional connections, additional opportunities, and personal growth.

Thanks so much for sharing all these insights with us today. Before we go, is there a book that’s played in important role in your development?

“Girl Online: A User Manual” by Joanna Walsh has profoundly influenced my perspective on my work as a woman navigating the internet. This book delves into the performativity of self, highlighting its particularly strong hold on women, both online and offline, who often find themselves embodying multiple roles in society. I felt that Walsh articulated many of the concerns I’ve grappled with in my own work, such as the commodification of identity in the digital realm, the careful curation of online personas, and the troubling lack of data privacy inherent in numerous social media platforms, especially in relation to third-party advertising. While “Girl Online” doesn’t provide explicit solutions, it undeniably compels Internet users to reflect on their roles within these narratives.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.nxravisuals.com
• Instagram: @nxravisuals

Image Credits

Personal Image:

“Self-Soothe”, Polaroid Emulsion Lift Self Portrait, @nxravisuals

Additional Photos:

“Anointed,” Collaged Fashion Magazine Advertisements w/ Digital Motifs; Digitally Colorized, @nxravisuals

“Onlookers,” Composite Photograph, @nxravisuals

“Tell Us About Influenced Me,” Black and White Photograph Digitally Colorized, @nxravisuals

“Disciple,” Black and White Photograph Digitally Colorized; Collaged w/ Video Stills, @nxravisuals