LISSA RIVERA | POOLSIDE, FAMILY HOME

In 2014, Lissa Rivera began her photographic series Beautiful Boy as a way to offer her friend BJ Lillis realization of his 'genderqueer' identity, which he expresses through wearing women’s clothes. Rivera has noted, 'So much of identity is constructed from looking at pictures; looking at photographs and looking at a film can really change who you are.' Lillis’ lithe form, sleek bathing cap, red lips, and intense gaze evoke the starlets of classic cinema and the work of twentieth-century fashion photographers such as Cecil Beaton (see lot 71) and Slim Aarons. 'The work really gives permission for women to look at women and for men to look at men, and for people to be nothing or anything or everything,' insists the photographer.