On Saturday afternoons over the past five years, photographer Casey Orr set up pop-up portrait studios in 14 cities and towns across the UK, including Leeds, Preston and Cardiff, waiting for young women to come along dressed up for the weekend. In all she photographed about 600 of them for her Saturday Girl project, which explores identity and self-expression. “There’s a certain time when a woman becomes visible in the world and there’s a power in that,” says Orr, who is also a lecturer at Leeds Beckett University. “It becomes a currency; the way you present yourself and the clothes you wear can be very creative and playful. It’s a really sophisticated thing.” A selection of these images are on show until 14 April at Format international photography festival in Derby, each over a metre wide (to be “experienced more as paintings”) and a book will be published by Bluecoat Press later in the year.
