Ariane Lopez-Huici's 2013 Exhibition at Hionas Gallery Features Photographs of Limbless Model Priscille

From April 7 to May 4, 2013, Hionas Gallery in New York City presented a solo exhibition of black-and-white photographs by French photographer Ariane Lopez-Huici. The show focused on Priscille, a French model who lost her limbs after a subway suicide attempt. Lopez-Huici, known for photographing marginalized subjects including obese women and a dancer on crutches, worked with Priscille over several years, capturing her during pregnancy. The photographer's approach contrasts with Diane Arbus's method, instead placing subjects in seamless black settings to highlight their nobility. Priscille initially contacted Lopez-Huici because of the artist's previous work, which had been exhibited in Spain. Lopez-Huici's empathetic method recalls George Dureau's 1970s photographs of limbless subjects in New Orleans, which influenced Robert Mapplethorpe. The exhibition explores themes of objectification in photography, with Lopez-Huici avoiding exploitation through respect and aesthetic kindness. Male viewers reportedly found themselves attracted to Priscille's mutilated body, drawing parallels to admired fragments of classical sculpture. The work challenges perceptions of beauty and disability, presenting Priscille's gradual confidence in front of the camera.