Michael Lewis is a Pittsburgh-based photographer who has been making candid and studio portraits of female impersonators for the past 8 years.
"I see these female impersonators as my supermodels, generously lending their oversize personas for portraits of uncommon power and beauty. Caricature and farce give drag queens much of their theatrical appeal, but there is also an element of intrigue that comes from the dual face of drag--comedy and camp merging with makeup and disguise. It's the naughty and nice factor. Certainly the duality brings a subversive edge to my work while amplifying its emotional charge.
My photographic style is a cross between glamour photography and photojournalism. I use traditional studio lighting techniques while attempting to scratch beneath the surface of my subjects. In this same way, I hope viewers will look beneath the surface of my photographs and consider what they say about human sexuality, homophobia, the dynamics of femininity, and our society's fascination with celebrity and fame."
