Kourtney Roy's "Failed Postcards From Napoli" Unveils Surreal Self-Portraits of Naples

Canadian artist and filmmaker Kourtney Roy, born in 1981, created the photographic series "Failed Postcards from Napoli" in 2025 while in residence at Spot Home Gallery in Naples, Italy. The project features meticulously staged self-portraits in which Roy, wearing flamboyant clothing and adopting deliberately theatrical poses, embodies eccentric and provocative female characters. Rather than presenting Naples' familiar tourist image, she reveals an unusual and mysterious side of the city, using its suburban streets, overpasses, and buildings as an expansive set. The series draws inspiration from Matteo Garrone's films "Reality" and "Dogman," Pier Paolo Pasolini's "Mamma Roma," and Federico Fellini's "Amarcord." Roy's visual language is distinctive, surreal, and cinematic, often tinged with a subtle unease. She explained her approach: "I didn't want to dwell on someone else's interpretation of Naples; I preferred to discover what the city was for me." Roy lives and works in Paris. She studied photography at Emily Carr University in Vancouver and later at the École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts in Paris. The series was produced in 2025 during her residency at Spot Home Gallery.