Laia Abril s a Spanish photographer and multiplatform storyteller whose work relates to femininity. Abril was born in 1986 in Barcelona, Spain. She gained a degree in journalism in Barcelona. She moved to New York City to study photography at the
International Center of Photography. In 2009 she enrolled at
Fabrica research centre, the artist residency of Benetton in Italy, where she worked as a staff photographer and consultant photo editor at
Colors magazine for a number of years.
Since 2010, Abril has been working on various projects exploring the subject of eating disorders:
A Bad Day, a short film about a young girl struggling with bulimia;
Thinspiration (2012), which explores the use of photography in pro-ana websites; and
The Epilogue (2014), documenting the indirect victims of eating disorders, through the story of the Robinson family and the aftermath of the death of Cammy Robinson to bulimia. Critic Sean O'Hagan, wrote in
The Guardian that The Epilogue
"... is a sombre and affecting photobook ... dense and rewarding ... At times, it makes for a painful read. From time to time, I had to put it down, take a breather. But I kept going back."
Her extended study of misogyny thus far includes
A History of Misogyny: Chapter One: On Abortion, about the repercussions of abortion controls in many different cultures. Work is ongoing to produce
A History Of Misogyny, Chapter 2: On Rape. Her other projects include
Femme Love, on a young lesbian community in Brooklyn;
Last Cabaret on a sex club in Barcelona; and the
Asexuals Project, a documentary film about asexuality.
Abril's books include
The Epilogue (2014), which documents the indirect victims of eating disorders, and
A History of Misogyny: Chapter One: On Abortion (2018), about the repercussions of abortion controls in many different cultures.
On Abortion won Photobook of the Year award at the
Paris Photo–
Aperture Foundation PhotoBook Awards. In 2018 she was awarded the
Tim Hetherington Trust's Visionary Award to work on A History Of Misogyny, Chapter 2: On Rape Culture. For the long-term project A History Of Misogyny, in 2019 she was awarded the
Royal Photographic Society's Hood Medal and in 2020 she was awarded the
Paul Huf Award from Foam Fotografiemuseum Amsterdam.
Source: Wikipedia