Project Statement:
Every weekend night, the cobblestone streets of the Meatpacking District are transformed into a microcosm of sexual politics. The rules that govern the city during the day are suspended: the act of looking—concealed in the daytime—is brazenly celebrated. Women, navigating the jagged streets in high heels, are confident of their presentation but unsteady in their step. A barrage of compliments and whistles accompanies them as they make their way through the space.
The formerly gritty, working-class neighborhood that used to be known for its dynamic gay nightlife and transgender sex workers, has been recently transformed into an ostentatious, high-gloss carnival for the young, single and heterosexual. The spectacle of the Meatpacking District uncannily echoes an imbalance of single women to men in New York City, with the former dramatically outnumbering the later. Emboldened by choice, the men are animated and vocal, while the women are eager to put themselves on display.
While the Meatpacking District’s seedy history of fetish houses and leather bars may have been erased by fashionable nightclubs, the area remains a sexual playground, offering a fascinating glimpse of contemporary romance.
Artist Bio:
Dina Litovsky’s work examines social performances and group interactions in both public and private spaces. Dina was born in Ukraine and moved to New York in 1991. After receiving her bachelor degree in psychology from NYU, Dina turned to photography and earned her MFA degree in photography from the School of Visual Arts, NY in 2010.
Dina’s work has won many awards, including Poyi 74, American Photography 31, NPPA Best of Photojournalism, PDN Photo Annual, and the International Photography Awards. In 2014, Dina was selected for PDN’s 30: New and Emerging Photographers to Watch.
Her work has been published by TIME, The New York Times, The New Yorker, National Geographic, New York Magazine, Stern, Bloomberg Businessweek, Wired, Photo District News, Esquire, Popular Mechanics and many others.
Dina is represented by Anastasia Photo gallery in NYC.
