DOUBLE LIFE is a photography series by Jordan Ledy that explores the gulf between the public personas of celebrated cultural figures and their private battles with alcoholism and addiction.

Ledy recreates glamour photographs found in the public domain as monochromatic inkjet prints, laser prints, and celluloid interpositives. These physical objects are then submerged in alcoholic beverages associated with the subjects, warping, staining, and dissolving the glossy veneer of the original portraits. Ledy photographs the results at close range, with the alcohol providing the only color as washes of amber, red, and gold animating the portraits while simultaneously distorting the likenesses beneath them.

DOUBLE LIFE subjects the polished language of the glamour portrait to a material transformation where alcohol is not merely a reference to the subjects' lives but the subject and medium of the work itself. The idealized persona remains recognizable but the glossy veneer is disrupted, revealing something more vulnerable and troubled. The resulting photographs strip away the illusion of perfection and expose a more painful truth beneath the celebrity façade.

DOUBLE LIFE will premiere at The Other Art Fair Los Angeles, September 24–27, 2026.

Works from the series are available in three sizes: 40 × 60 inches (edition of 3), 24 × 36 inches (edition of 5), and 12 × 18 inches (edition of 5). Each inkjet work is printed by the artist on Hahnemühle fine-art paper, with the paper selected individually to complement the tonal, surface, and reflective qualities of the photograph.

The images were captured digitally with macro lenses and color graded in Adobe Lightroom. No digital compositing or generative AI was used.

Tickets to The Other Art Fair are available here (20% discount off retail price!)