Armed with wigs, colourful stockings, outrageous outfits, and a lightweight tripod, Kourtney Roy embarked on a glamourously absurd visual journey through Italy, ready to capture the unfiltered. Released on April 10, 2025, by André Frère Éditions, Trashissima is a 48-page leporello by the renowned visual artist. Wrapped in a striking Aperol-like orange vinyl cover, the book captures the very essence of Roy’s deliciously provocative, cinematic world.
Comprised of photos taken during various Italian vacations in 2024, Trashissima gives us a glimpse into the unique way Roy sees the world around her. “Italy appears like a colossal and extravagant cinema set”, she says. “Everything is on display in this marvellous country – from the classical elegance of ancient pillars to the vulgarity of seedy backstreet joints”. It features 12 full-colour self-portraits characterised by her signature use of flashy lighting, surreal set-ups, and biting humour. Just like that, the artist transforms everyday landscapes into vibrant theatrical scenes, ranging from glamorous to unapologetically trashy.
Born in Canada in 1981 and later influenced by her studies at Emily Carr University and the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris, Kourtney Roy crafts a meticulous visual style that explores the surreal within the mundane. Kourtney Roy is known for her fascinating cinematic images that blend wonder, mystery, and a dark sense of humour. Working across photography and film, she’s earned numerous awards, including the Prix Picto (2007), Emily Award (2012), Prix Carte Blanche PMU/Le Bal (2013), and the Pernod Ricard Carte Blanche (2018). While her work has been widely exhibited in France, China, the USA, Australia, and more.
“I choose locations on the fly and use the existing landscape and décor to bring my trashy, sordid characters to life”
— Kourtney Roy
Through a playful lens, the artist transforms ordinary subjects into scenes of eerie, uncanny beauty, inviting viewers to reconsider the familiar. Drawn to the edges of experience – spatial, temporal, and psychological – she often places herself at the centre of her images, creating an intimate world populated by shifting, enigmatic characters that explore these liminal realms. “Nothing is planned”, she explains when talking about Trashissima. “I choose locations on the fly and use the existing landscape and décor to bring my trashy, sordid characters to life”.
Kourtney has also published several photobooks, including The Tourist (2020) and The Other End of the Rainbow (2022), both also published by André Frère Éditions, a French independent publisher always looking after shapes, materials and graphic design in its productions, with each book sticking to the photographer’s work to serve it and to show it at best.
Presented in a unique format, Trashissima is a bold, humorous, and delightfully subversive take on travel, identity, and visual storytelling. As Roy puts it: “TRASHISSIMA! All your fondest memories of Italy gathered into one timeless family entertainment album”.
