Quotes from Petra Collins

That's what I look for in models: Someone who can tell a story and has a presence in front of the camera.

I'm thin and white and blond, but I'm not an airbrushed, perfect thing. I have stretch marks all over. I have cellulite; I have acne. To me, it feels like you can't really be what you can't see, and so if you don't see those things, then you don't feel like you're valid.

I think being collaborative is definitely more natural for people who are minorities in any sense - so people who aren't, like, white male artists - because we don't have the privilege to create art and work alone, usually.

Just being with a group of girls and experiencing sadness together - it's a pretty powerful thing.

If I have extra money, I always love to support my friends who're making art.

I've always been fascinated by the desert.

I want to direct a feature film. Horror is my main genre.

If your story is being told by someone who doesn't really know it, it's not going to come out accurate. A lot of it has to do with context. Whoever's behind the camera or pen or whatever.

My lens and my personality, it's just fluid. The art isn't just in one place.

For me, art doesn't stop at the gallery space.

It's hard for every girl to accept their body. This is something that I try to work on every day to set a good example.

I didn't really have an identity crisis because I really, really knew who I always wanted to be But I definitely had a lot of problems with my body. I was very skinny, and I guess my body was sort of pre-pubescent, but when I grew hips and thighs, I just didn't know where I was in the world. It was weird.

It's so rare to see a woman lose control and also gain it back. Women are always told, 'Oh, be in control of your feelings,' and a woman is never allowed to express her anger without being demonised as being PMS-y.

Hashtag activism is a catalyst, but things have to actually happen in real life.

I love working in groups - I think it makes each individual more powerful.

Women are inherently told their bodies are objects, so that's how we treat them.

I keep this Hungarian wooden candlestick on the top of my refrigerator along with all my other candles. It's big and ugly, especially next to all my pretty candles, and it doesn't really make sense to have in my apartment.

When I was growing up, my parents would apologize when we didn't have enough money for something. I'd always tell them that it was O.K. and that I had learned to work hard because of them.

I always had this feeling, what I wanted to do. I was trying to work out myself, my frustrations, my body. I couldn't really pinpoint. I started taking photos of my sister and her friends. I was 15, exploring what it meant to be a 15-year-old girl.

I grew up on Facebook; it's a different realm I live in. For some people, this is inauthentic, but for me, it's all I know.

I did two years at art school in criticism and curatorial practice, but I dropped out because I was frustrated that there was this hierarchy where I couldn't do anything or ask questions.

Putting your work out there is scary!

From the beginning of puberty, I did really badly in school. I was super dyslexic; I was in special ed. I had a hard time reading and writing, so I thought that my self worth was in my looks, how I presented myself, and how other people perceived me.

The feminist movement is way bigger than the word. I don't police people on what they call themselves, but equality and a general sense of togetherness are really important to me.