Photo: In Texas it is illegal for children to have unusual haircuts. Photography Olivia Locher, published by Chronicle Books 2017
“Hey, do you know it’s illegal to have an ice cream cone in your back pocket in Alabama?” The question, posed by a friend during a photoshoot, kept echoing in Olivia Locher’s mind for months. Eventually, she hit up the Internet to check it out for herself, only to discover that this law, made during the nineteenth century, extended to the states of Kentucky and Georgia as well. Word on the street had it that thieves pulled this stunt in order to lure horses away, then plead innocent by claiming, “I didn’t steal him. He followed me!”
.
Ahh, those crafty Southerners – what will they think of next? Locher launched an investigation, delving into the criminal codes across the United States, digging up the dirt for I Fought the Law: Photographs by Olivia Locher of the Strangest Laws from Each of the 50 States, a new book releasing from Chronicle on September 5, which will also be exhibited at Steven Kasher Gallery, New York, from September 14 through October 21, 2017.
.
Although many people would like to believe that laws are written to uphold moral, ethical principles, this is patently untrue. In many cases, they are written to reflect the biases of those who once wielded the power to write the rules. The USA, being a nation dedicated to states’ rights, has any number of bizarre, quirky, obscure laws on the books that few know about – as well as a host of urban legends that have captivated the public’s imagination.
.
For I Fought the Law, Locher compiled her favourite flagrant criminal codes and staged a series of charming photo shoots that embrace peculiar peccadillos from Arizona’s law against having more than two dildos in the house to Ohio, where it was once illegal to disrobe in front of a portrait of a man. Locher speaks with us about creating a tongue-in-chic portrait of the American outlaw.
.
Read the Full Story at Dazed Digital