About

Talaina creates surreal & often grotesque photography that explores the terrifying physicality of the human body, the faltering facade of societal norms, & her struggle with mental illness. Her roots are deep within the badlands of rural Arizona where she uses herself, family, and close friends as her subjects.

A self-taught artist, Kor’s expertise began with YouTube tutorials & experimentation with non-traditional lighting devices such as laptop screens, glow sticks, LEDs, & Christmas lights to reveal the images that she imagines. Painstakingly crafted over hours of editing, her work is color-rich and tonally dynamic, radiating light rather than absorbing it.

Kor has gained experience through her studies at the California College of the Arts & School of the Art Institute of Chicago, as well as from her time working as an assistant to artist Tina Mion.

Publications

Northern Arizona Mountain Living Magazine, Joy Beneath Darkness: The photographic works of Talaina Kor, March 1, 2019

FlagLive! Hues of life, loss and reality suspended: Talaina Kor’s ‘Color Study’, January 10, 2019

Voyage Phoenix, Meet Talaina Kor, July 31, 2018