When she moved to Los Angeles from New York two years ago, Sandy Kim had no idea how it would affect her photography. Which is probably because she had no idea how it would affect her life: the wild child photographer’s unruly, intimate photos of her fast-spinning circle of friends and lovers are a reflection what whatever she’s doing at the time, and wouldn’t anyone be curious upon throwing themselves into the heat and hedonism of California’s cliché epicenter? Kim’s new zine, Sex, Drugs, & Kodak Gold, is a sensualist’s City of Angels dream. As its title suggests, the zine is a collection of photos focused on people indulging in their various appetites both carnal and chemical — all rendered in beautifully saturated hues that would be perfect for a postcard if not for the NSFW subject matter.
Kim is hardly the first photographer to throw her own life in front of the camera for all the world to see, but she does so with a honest affection that’s all her own. Ryan McGinley, New York’s downtown art scene OG, is not so much an idol of hers as he is a loyal fan. Sex, Drugs, & Kodak Gold is dedicated to Kim’s close friend $ha Money, whose portraits in the zine have a very specific meaning to the young photographer. “The zine starts out with photos of him that I took the last time I saw him,” Kim tells us before heading over to the zine’s launch at Family Los Angeles. “I was getting interviewed for a short spotlight in the the New York Times and he said ‘take this for the New York Times.’ Unfortunately it didn’t end up in the interview so I decided to make a zine dedicated to him.” He appears alongside Kim’s longtime BFF Sky Ferreira.
Sex, Drugs, & Kodak Goldlaunched at Family Books Los Angeles last night with a slideshow and a signing of Kim’s previous zine, LA XXX. You can preorder both zines through the Family website.
Credits
Text Hannah Ongley
Images courtesy of Sandy Kim