Lanna Apisukh is a portrait and documentary photographer based in New York City. With a background in skateboarding and an extensive athletic career as a former Division I elite gymnast, she is drawn to documenting active and unique individuals walking their own path. Her work explores identity, individuality and place through bold and honest stories she strives to create in her images.
Apisukh is a B.A. graduate of the University of Washington and has expanded her photography education at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York. She currently works with BKC, a community-focused visual arts school, to provide creative education to everyday New Yorkers, and is also a founding member of Seeing Collective, an inclusive space hosting monthly talks and critiques to foster community and a supportive network within the photography industry.
Desert Brothers
Inspired by the creativity and independent spirit of today’s modern youth, this photographic portrait essay features Atticus and Avery Stannard, two brothers with contrasting backgrounds that share a mutual passion for self-expression through clothes.
Though the two siblings live on opposite ends of the country, they were able to join together over summer break in their hometown of Phoenix, Arizona where I traveled to capture them on film in the South Mountain desert during one of the hottest days of July.
Originally I had met 15-year-old Atticus in New York City, where he attends a specialized high school that prepares students for careers in fashion and design. With the aspiring designer’s talent for creating one-of-a-kind garments, he was able to construct the red satin zipper pants he wore in these images. He tells me his biggest inspiration comes from his older brother Avery, who similarly has a gift for creating bold streetwear looks.
Resistant to the scorching Arizona sun, the two were determined to dress and accessorize each other for our trip out to the desert on a 110-degree day. They took photographs of their outfits and shared them on Instagram as a record of their stylish creations.
Despite their trajectories in life and the two-thousand plus miles between them, it was clear to me that clothing and their dedication to creating something unique had closely aligned them and affirmed their confidence, character and spirit.
Told through bold and honest imagery, these photographs honor unique sibling relationships like this one, while examining place, identity, individuality and the power of creative self-expression through clothes.
To view more of Lanna Apisukh’s work, please visit her website.