Olivia Repaci
Photographer
Sydney, AUS
WHO
“My name is Olivia Repaci and I’m a Sydney photographer.”
That is a line I use every day as I pitch myself and my photography work out to brands, magazines and other artists. Succinct yet slightly reductive, in reality, I am my own creative director, manager, PR representative, driver, social media programmer.
This is how I like to operate though, because I get total control over my work and how I present to the world.
I have lived in Australia my whole life, mainly because I’m scared of change and also because I haven’t really had a chance to live anywhere else because … pandemic. But I love it here - I can find endless inspiration from my very own hometown.
WHAT
I am a photographer and collage artist. I dabble in video as well.
I am predominantly self taught, with some bits of formal training here and there.
My work follows themes of the female gaze on modern femininity - and results in an empowered, frank representation of the girl of the 21st century. I love to work with a female creative team and cast to help achieve this desired result.
WHERE
I prefer to shoot outdoors because of the natural light as mentioned above. But that isn’t to say that I don’t appreciate a good crisp white studio.
Pretty much - I will shoot wherever I can or need to be.
WHEN
I started shooting for the first time back in 2014. I was given the chance to go to the National Art School in Sydney and take an intensive photography course.
Since then, I developed a fascination with photography and the possibilities in curating a reality of manipulated light.
WHY
My main preoccupation with my photography is to capture the light that I see in the most true way possible. I am fascinated with how bossy light is. It dictates how you see the world, if you can even see the world, how you perceive yourself and others. Being able to just spectate what the light is doing at a certain moment, and capture it - to savour later - is really why I like to shoot.
I much prefer natural light to studio lighting as it is more unpredictable - and I like to work with what nature has decided to give me that day.
On a larger scale, I love the ability to work with a team to literally invent a new reality and personality with every shoot I do.
I prefer to have a story, reason or genre that motivates a shoot to go in a certain direction - so that way I can attempt to fabricate a photo that places itself out of the universe we know, and into a timeless, location-less liminal world.
HOW
How I am able to create my work is to be informed by the external.
Film is a really big inspiration to me, I majored in film studies at University. Whether I take a whole aesthetic as inspiration, or just a certain character, time period or lighting mood, I can always find something that will inform my inner minds eye.
I look to other female photographers as well - those such as Petra Collins, Renell Medrano, Brianna Capozzi and Annie Leibovitz are a large reason why I create in the first place.
My work is best found on
IG: @oliviarepaci and on my website oliviarepaci.com