Elizabeth Waterman is a Los Angeles–based artist working with performance, portraiture, and constructed image systems. Her practice engages dancers, performers, and subcultural spaces through staged and observational photography.
Her books include Moneygame (XYZ Books, 2021), a study of exotic dancers across five U.S. cities, and Candyland (Unicorn Publishing, 2024), a series of outdoor portraits of female adult film actors.
Her recent body of work, Propulsion, debuts at Photo London (2025) with Albumen Gallery. The series pairs dancers with jellyfish in diptych form, placing human and marine movement into visual dialogue.
Waterman’s work has been exhibited internationally, including in New York, London, Paris, Sydney, and Los Angeles, and has appeared in 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
