b. Hazlehurst, Mississippi, USA 1993

Derek DeWitt’s rigorously considered photography is largely informed by the female stars of the 1930s, ‘40s, and ‘50s. At a young age, his fascination with these women shifted from swooning to studying. As DeWitt grew older, he began to delve deeper into this subject and learned of the workings of the star machine and the rigors the girls were put through to become camera-ready. His research into the elaborate Hollywood apparatus fostered an appreciation for the process of creating an image. DeWitt’s approach as a photographer parallels the Hollywood studio system, under which prospective stars were almost entirely divested of their own identities and given new ones.

DeWitt’s work has been published in magazines including Candy, RAIN, Double, ODDA, Vaczine, and Connecticut Cottage and Garden. In 2015, his work was included in the exhibition “Interface: Queer Artists Forming Communities Through Social Media”, at the Leslie Lohman Gallery, New York, New York. DeWitt lives and works in New York, New York.

Derek DeWitt’s IG