IDEA - Holy Ohio - Nadia Lee Cohen

Overview

WePresent, the arts platform from WeTransfer, unveils Holy Ohio, a new photography book by British photographer, filmmaker, and artist Nadia Lee Cohen.

One of Cohen’s most intimate projects to date, Holy Ohio captures her return to visit extended family in Ohio—a place she hadn’t been since childhood more than two decades ago, and the setting of her earliest memories of America. The work reflects her effort to piece together those lingering, time-stilled recollections while observing the nuances of life in rural America.

Designed to echo the look and feel of a Bible, Holy Ohio marks a shift in Cohen’s artistic approach—stripped back, direct, and free of sentimentality.

Cohen explains: “My last visit to my family in Ohio was in 1999. It was my earliest real-life encounter with American culture beyond what I saw on TV. My mum’s brother moved there in the early ’90s with his wife and son, joining his daughter, her American husband, and their kids. Over time, the family kept growing—grandchildren, then great-grandchildren—until four generations ended up living in two neighboring homes on a leafy cul-de-sac. I remember the smell of bacon, coffee, pizza depending on the hour, kids racing around yelling. The house felt alive—messy, warm, chaotic—and at that age I found the arguments and disorder thrilling.”

Produced in partnership with and published by WePresent, Holy Ohio is distributed through IDEA Books. Cohen joins a roster of leading creatives who have worked with WePresent to bring their most personal visions to life, fostering cultural dialogue. Recent publishing collaborations include the first issue of ICE magazine by Renell Medrano, Nour, a one-time poetry publication by Mustafa, and The Day I Met Björk, a zine of previously unseen images by Spike Jonze curated by Humberto Leon.

Holly Fraser, editor-in-chief of WePresent, shared: “Our relationship with Nadia began in 2018, and we’ve been consistently inspired by her fearless creativity and her photography that so often captures the cultural moment. When we broadened our commissioning to include artist-led publications earlier this year, Nadia was among the first we approached—we knew she’d craft something remarkable. Holy Ohio may be one of her most personal pieces yet, but it’s also a brutally honest and wonderfully eccentric portrayal of family life that feels universally familiar. Supporting artists’ passion projects has always been central to WePresent, and this book embodies that mission.”

About Nadia Lee Cohen

A child of the nineties, Nadia Lee Cohen (1992) grew up on an isolated farm in the English countryside. Her recent collaboration with Martin Parr, the photobook Julie Bullard, in which she plays a fictional version of her childhood babysitter, is a visual illustration of the world she called her own, until her early twenties. when she took herself off to Los Angeles.
In 2020, her first book Women was published. Six years in the making: the book featured 100 previously unseen portraits resulting in a heartbreaking work of theatrical ambiguity and naked honesty and sold 10,000 copies. Her second book, composed of prosthetically enhanced self-portraits, Hello, My Name Is, gave its name to her first major solo gallery show staged at Jeffrey Deitch in Los Angeles.
An artist, photographer and filmmaker, Cohen works inside popular culture. The lurid leftovers of Western consumerism inspire her art, which then re-enters the mass media in the form of magazine covers, music videos, fashion shoots and Instagram posts.
Cohen has worked with Beyoncé, Tyler the Creator and A$AP Rocky amongst many others. She sent Zendaya into space for On Running and directed two of her own heroes, John Waters and Kyle Machlachlan in campaigns for YSL and Balenciaga respectively. Recent photographic highlights include shooting Kate Moss and Ray Winstone together for Perfect Magazine in the endearing love story I'm Not Finished With You Yet.
Arguably her ultimate subject is herself. She appears as herself, and as a front row guest at fashion shows and events. These personal appearances blur the lines between artistry and celebrity, and that is her peculiar art. Her personal work, made for and of herself, reached a new high with the 2025 film for Aphex Twin's Korg Funk 5.

Details

Holy Ohio by Nadia Lee Cohen
Hardcover, Wintan® Palma recycled leather cover in white
150 pages, 28 x 21.5 cm page size portrait
Images printed on GardaPat Kiara 135gsm, with opening and appendix printed on Offenbach Bible Paper 80gsm
Printed in an edition of 1200