Ilona Szwarc Captures Rodeo Girls

An ongoing portrait project, ‘Rodeo Girls‘ shows young girls from Texas who compete in rodeos. With fundamentally different ideas about their femininity and a contrasting attitude toward gender roles, Szwarc’s subjects engage in the activity traditionally reserved for men. Warsaw-born, LA-based photographer creates poetic portraits deeply rooted in the tradition of American documentary, while undermining stereotypes and beliefs American society holds for women. That said, Szwarc is also fascinated by the girls’ great physical strength and their dominance over animals. “I am interested in the limitation these girls face in expressing their femininity and the transference of it onto animals,” says the photographer.