Brianna Capozzi Is Inspired By David Lynch & Mundane Suburbia

When you glance at Brianna Capozzi's photography, her inspirations peek through: colorful animations, John Gallliano's Margiela, and Italian-American New Jersey culture. Her images feel sensual, alive, and place women—Dua Lipa, Chloë Sevigny, Bella Hadid and Selena Gomez to name a few—in a unique position of power.

When Capozzi first encounters a subject, she makes it her mission to push them outside of their comfort zone and what they believed to be capable of—she has a knack for sensing when there’s more than what meets the eye. It’s her ability to crack people open and inspire expressions outside of their day-to-day nature that makes her art what it is. And, as a way of cataloguing her distinct and provocative point of view, she released a book of photos titled Womanizer in March and an accompanying exhibit in May.

Ahead, we chat with Brianna Capozzi about her work, her wide range of inspirations, and the beauty that is womanhood.

The title Womanizer is so fun and provocative. How did you land on it?

"I was in LA showing my friend Kellie a Helmut Newton documentary that I love, and Susan Sontag came on. I mentioned to Kellie that Susan felt he was a sort of womanizer, and it just made sense. I’m a big fan of Helmut’s work, and I wanted to take the word back as a woman and flip it on its head."

Womanizer brings together so many different sides of your work. What did you want the overall feeling of the exhibition to be?

"I wanted to overwhelm the viewer with the power and beauty of each woman on the wall while also having a real intimacy come across. I played with very large-scale prints mixed with tiny Polaroids, so you have to go between really stepping back and getting very close up. Each woman individually is so striking and has her own energy, but they also play so well together as a whole."

What references (art, films, photographers, pop culture) do you always come back to?

"Helmut Newton, Meisel, David Lynch, Cindy Sherman, Bettina Rheims, Italian-American New Jersey culture, Barbie, MKA early 00s, Desperate Housewives, The Simple Life, Margiela + Galliano, '90s MM Paris, Bernadette Corporation, colorful animations, and mundane suburbia."

You’ve photographed everyone from Bella Hadid to Selena Gomez. What usually catches your eye first when photographing someone?

"I start to notice the angles and expressions they may be capable of that are not so inherent in their immediate nature. I push them to go further with their range and get them out of their comfort zone. We all see ourselves in a specific way and think we might not look good at a certain angle or in a certain pose, but I can see how they can look mega, and I try to get them to open up and go there."

Is there a particular image in the exhibition that feels especially meaningful to you?

"The self-portrait Polaroid of me. It was a real family affair. My boyfriend Jake hit the shutter. My best friend Bella was in the corner filming on VHS, my old assistant Hedi at the end of the bed shooting on the Contax, and my main lighting tech Ivory pressed against the wall with the bounce. All of us in my tiny bedroom. I was so pregnant and so exhausted but still turning it out in that skimpy Chanel bikini, stilettos on. My Son is in there! It’s just magic."