Tulsa Skins: More Than Skin Deep

Drew Harbour and Xochitl are walking embodiments of the Tulsa creative spirit, cunning and progressive. These two began their collaboration at the Black Lives Matter protest that shook the city. Many of you might remember that a pickup truck rolled through the group of protestors on Interstate 244, sending two people to the hospital. On the highway at the time of the wreck, the pair left that protest with a rush of emotions, inspiring a photographic dialogue centered on the city we call home. “We began these photography sessions…projecting art found around Tulsa and placing it on local people,” Drew tells us.

The project Tulsa Skins aims to move you emotionally through its unique and thought provoking way of projecting art on the human body. The session features models stripped nude, covered by a thin layer of lights and LED projections that force viewers to recognize the humanity of their fellow Tulsans. True to the Tulsa DIY aesthetic, Xochitl tells us that a lot of these projections are stickers found on the downtown, which harkens back to the genius of the project —art made for art’s sake, in an accessible manner.

Tulsa Skins is an impressive project that addresses a wide range of social topics in a beautiful way, that is uniquely Tulsa; from the found art to the models, it hits home in a major way! “I feel very passionate about Tulsa, we have a lot of power as a city to impact the entire Nation’s culture. We’re a big expansive community with a lot of intersections, and if we’re all brought together, we can do a lot of good and healthy things that can help everyone,” said Xochitl.

Catch the Tulsa Skins exhibit at the Josh New Photography Studio on Friday, November 12, 2021, from 6-9 p.m. 2308 E Admiral Blvd, Tulsa, OK 74110