Kate Roberts is the Black Widow of the
photography world, drawing you in with a
femme fatale beauty,
before eating you alive with a fierce ownership of form,
sensuality and knowledge.
Her images focus on the female as a
single entity; creating a visual narrative
with focus on one sole charactera vessel for understanding the true essence of female.
Unashamedly tackling female sexuality head-on, Kate presents the girls in her photographs (often herself,
though rarely a true self portrait- think Cindy Sherman-esque charactertures, with more of a running
theme) as sirens, beautiful gorgons, untouchable female powerhouses that almost seem unreal both in the
sense of their mythical counterparts, and the gap that cries out for them in today's modern lifestyle.
Of her work, Kate says: "I started photographing myself the first time I picked up a camera. My
fascination with self portraiture has led me through issues of female identity, beauty, fashion and vanity,
and the work I create is a means of self preservation in this sense- both physically and conceptually.
I have been in love with films since I can remember, and my work is heavily inspired by and centred
around cinematic and theatrical themes. The fascinating and alluring femme fatale is an icon I have come
back to time and time again in my images, transforming myself into this character of intruige and sex
appeal; a multifaceted and complex woman who starred in all of my favourite movies.
As a natural progression, I became increasingly interested in issues of female eroticism- of sexual imagery
created not simply for male consumption, but for a shared female experience of sexual freedom,
admiration and expression. I learnt as much as I could about "Raunch Culture" and the way images of
women are made and read in Western society.
Though we live in the era of the "lad mag", I believe I create images that can exist outside of a p ]