Norma Córdova, aka, shesaidred, is a Mexican-American photographer, filmmaker, and artist. Her image-based work creates illusions that conjure imagination without presenting a factual reality.

They invoke femininity, self identity, and wonder. She is based in Oakland, California shooting traditionally – film, polaroids, paper negatives, and is currently building a color darkroom. Her work explores narratives influenced by her Latin Catholic upbringing. She was very aware that certain attributes prescribed to women of her faith, especially chastity, were very desirable. At the time, she didn’t dare question them out loud, accepting them innocently, believing that this was the way the world operated. In her practice, she photographs women in order to free herself from that conditioning. She states “within my images, I explore femininity collaboratively, working with close friends and acquaintances in a full, frank, and free way.” In her moody, narrative-driven compositions, she explores desire and desirability, and questions the myriad expectations of women and how we are portrayed. [Official Website]