Photographer based in Los Angeles, CA
Ariana Zukowski, portrait of the photographer
Tell us about yourself, what's your background?
I'm a Canadian visual artist living in Los Angeles working with the medium of photography. My background is in graphic design, which impacts my composition, use of color and ways of constructing printed images. From an early age, I felt looking through a lens provided access to an internal dream state.
At the water’s edge, 2024, Digital image
I think having that tool as you age keeps your imagination alive, looking at life in a state of wonder and appreciation for beauty. Once I realized you could construct narratives through a stream of images, I got hooked on following my obsessions and piecing together works that summarize a specific time in my life and what I'm working through. I've enjoyed taking photos since I was 10, but took it seriously starting at the age of 27.
Foam tracing the edge of return, 2024, Digital image
“I'm currently working on the project Jasmine & Gasoline . . . about finding your way back to yourself through nature . . . The story lives inside the myth of Persephone, a woman caught between the underworld and earth, breaking free from the cycle of descent and return.”
Left: Persphone’s pomegranate, 2025, Digital image. Right: Engine buzzed like a song in my throat, 2025, Digital image
What are you currently working on and where did the inspiration for it come from?
I'm currently working on the project Jasmine & Gasoline, a project about finding your way back to yourself through nature. In making this work, I return to the Mediterranean, and that pull between the sea and the west coast is the spine of it. The story lives inside the myth of Persephone, a woman caught between the underworld and earth, breaking free from the cycle of descent and return. This past year, I've spent more time with modern art, which pushed me to expand the series into more material work: printing on wood, aluminum, and fabric, with an eye toward temporary installations.
Left: Cracked open with wings, 2025, Digital image. Right: Textures of industry softened into play, 2026, UV print on wood
Innovation does not only happen in the field of technology, where do you find inspiration?
Watching movies with strong use of color told in an unexpected visual style always strikes a chord. But ultimately, good light and a small camera do the trick for a nice photo walk. Since moving to LA, what I've missed most from denser cities is the sight of crowds, people carrying the full range of human consciousness in their bodies, on their faces. I appreciate street photography for slowing the world down, everything moving at its own quiet pace, and me centered in the waves of it all, observing the expansive beauty in the life around me.
Left: Jasmine & Gasoline, Fabric test. Right: Shadows returning to her skin, 2025, Digital image
Where do ideas start for you?
The seed of ideas usually springs up for me after intaking some form of art or relaxing at home. To build upon a body of work, being out in the world, observing life, and walking through exhibitions helps me digest emotions, approaches, and different ways to piece something together.
How do you make your work, does it start with a sketch?
Usually it's me shooting often until I recognize patterns in my work and build off of that, or ideating through stream-of-consciousness writing. Recently, in trying to make photographic materials, I've looked a lot at the art world via painting, sculpture, and mixed media to see what can be approached similarly in displaying photographic work across various materials.
Left: Studio wall. Right: Melting back into herself, 2025, Digital image
Many artists live by their routines and rituals, what does yours look like?
I work in the evening. To start, I light a candle and play a long, looping playlist of ambient or jazz music. If I'm in a hurry, I bump up the bpm.
Who are your biggest influences?
Dorothea Lange, Rosalía, Frank Ocean, Patti Smith, Henri Matisse, Jonathan Anderson, and Antoni Gaudí.
Left: Voltage by the sea, 2025, Framed aluminum print. Right: Nature’s touch, 2026, Printed collage
Are there books or films that are an important source of inspiration?
Books that sparked a lot for me are Invisible Cities by Italo Calvino and Água Viva by Clarice Lispector. I love the way modern women are portrayed in La Notte by Michelangelo Antonioni and Cléo from 5 to 7 by Agnès Varda. The color and loose storyline in Fallen Angels by Wong Kar-wai has stayed with me.
What’s the best piece of advice you’ve been given?
"In the particular is contained the universal." — James Joyce
"Study, study, study." — Miuccia Prada
What is the best advice you would give to other artists?
You can make art when you feel unsettled, and that potency may lead you to new heights.
Portrait of the photographer
Stay up to date with Ariana Zukowski
Website arianazukowski.com
Instagram @arianazukowski