Elizabeth Waterman is a Los Angeles–based fine art photographer whose work explores performance, sexuality, and subculture through portraiture and staged imagery. Her practice frequently centers on artists and performers within communities often misunderstood or stigmatized, including exotic dancers, drag performers, and adult film actors.
Her book Moneygame (XYZ Books, 2021) documents the lives of exotic dancers across five U.S. cities and has been exhibited in the United States and Europe. Her book Candyland (Unicorn Publishing, 2024) features vivid, color-splashed outdoor portraits of female adult film actors photographed during the pandemic.
Her newest body of work, Propulsion, will debut at Photo London in May 2025 with Albumen Gallery. The series pairs photographs of exotic dancers with images of jellyfish, creating diptychs that explore rhythm, movement, and survival across radically different environments. Through these visual dialogues, the work reframes dancers beyond stereotype, highlighting their resilience, artistry, and ability to sculpt light and space through movement.
Waterman’s work has been exhibited internationally in New York, London, Paris, Sydney, and Los Angeles, and has been featured in publications including The Los Angeles Times, British Journal of Photography, Creative Boom, and L’Oeil de La Photographie. She holds a B.A. in Fine Art from the University of Southern California and was born in Taos, New Mexico.
EXHIBITIONS
Solo Exhibitions
2023
Gorgeous Drag, Albumen Gallery, Photo London, London, UK
2023
MONEYGAME, Leica Gallery Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA
2023
MONEYGAME, Anderson Yezerski Gallery, Boston, MA
2022
MONEYGAME, Boogie-Wall Gallery, London, UK
2013
The New God, Wallplay, New York, NY
Selected Group Exhibitions
2025
Art Wall: 100 Years of Leica, Meatpacking District, New York, NY
2018
State of the World, PX3 Prizewinning Photography Exhibition, curated by Hossein Farmani, Espace Beaurepaire, Paris, France
2016
The New Vintage (with Marcia Resnick), Jue Lan Club / Limelight Church, New York, NY
2015
The Gruin Transfer, Salomon Arts Gallery, New York, NY
2014
The Dash, Soma Studio, Sydney, Australia
2013
Who Shot Natalie White, ROX Gallery, New York, NY
Education
2007
B.A. Fine Art, Magna Cum Laude
University of Southern California
Roski School of Art and Design
Press (Selected)
2025
Deeper Blue — “Photographer Elizabeth Waterman Reveals Striking Parallel Between Jellyfish and Exotic Dancers”
2024
Creative Boom — “Photographer Elizabeth Waterman Challenges Our Perceptions of Porn Stars”
2024
The Advocate — “12 Photos Exploring the Lives of Thailand’s Transgender Community”
2022
Los Angeles Downtown News — “Photographer Launches ‘Women of the Sidewalk Project’”2021
Los Angeles Times — “How a Fine-Art Photographer Recast the Lives of Exotic Dancers Through a Female Gaze”
Awards
2019
British Journal of Photography — Portrait of Humanity, selected for publication
2018
Prix de la Photographie Paris (PX3)
Gold Winner — Documentary Category
Silver Winner — People Category
Honorable Mention
2018
Smithsonian Magazine Photo Contest — Photo of the Day, Editor’s Pick2019
The Biennial for Fine Art & Documentary Photography — Shortlisted for Grant
Books
2024
Candyland, Unicorn Publishing (UK)
Color-splashed portraits of female adult film actors, 128 pages
2021
Moneygame, XYZ Books (Lisbon)
Photographs documenting the lives of exotic dancers across the United States, 130 pages
2016
Elizabeth Waterman Photographs 2011–2016, Black & Gold Publishing
Editorials by photographer Elizabeth Waterman below
