Artist Biography
Lia Barrett was born in Jeonju sometime in February 1984 (although her birthday is officially listed as March 9, 1984). She was adopted in June 1985 and was raised in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. After completing university at Parsons School of Design in New York in 2007, Lia has been on a continual pursuit of travel and adventure. From her deep-sea work in a homemade submarine off of Roatán, Honduras, to shooting world record holding freedivers, Lia has embraced the underwater world as her ultimate sanctuary.
Lia is the co-founder and Creative Director of Prawno Apparel, an ocean-minded apparel company that draws designs directly from Lia’s photographs. She has been published in numerous newspapers and magazines, including the front page of the New York Times, BBC, CNN, Time, Outside, O Magazine, ESPN, Playboy, The Times (UK), Men’s Journal, and 60 Minutes. She has sat on several underwater photography judging panels and finds great pleasure in encouraging other photographers to grow and develop their craft.
In 2018, Lia returned to Korea where she was reunited with her birth parents after 33 years. Although she hasn’t met them, she found out she has 6 half siblings (three to each parent).
