Body Image, Nudity, Cover it Up. Why are we so shy to share?

In collaboration with Magdalene Welch, Naomi Peh Haeger and lots of support from James Dovey. Project: Skin Is Art Link

 

Why are we hiding? What are we running away from? Why are we running away from it? Who are we hiding it from?

Photography: James Dovey

Photography: James Dovey

 

We are scrutinised for wearing little clothes. We are told we that aren't on the beach so we can't go around wearing only our bras. But why? Why do you have a say on what I choose to wear?

 

 Image Credit: Magdalene Welch

 Image Credit: Magdalene Welch

Photography: James Dovey

Photography: James Dovey

Photography: James Dovey

Photography: James Dovey

We should not feel ashamed of sharing our body. Society has created too many labels, stereotyping people and their bodies. We are forced to feel guilty about our natural build and feel the urge to change our body type. We've been constantly associating the naked body with sex, prostitution, seduction, negative influences, shameful acts, whereas at the end of the day, it's the shell we were born in. That's all. Underneath layers and layers of superficiality, we are just us, in our birthday suits.

Why are we hiding those bread rolls, pale skin, the fat on our stomach and stretch marks on our bum cheeks? They are nothing bad. They are not ugly. They are normal. Magazines and social media tell us that our natural bodies are not acceptable. It's not pretty enough. It's not attractive. So we are pressured into changing ourselves to fit the norm. To blend in to the crowd. To put on an artificial mask for the world's masquerade like everyone else does.  

 

Our Curves (2017)

Our Curves (2017)

Fashion Show is a Bible for Looks, Just Like Porn is a Bible for Sex

At the photoshoot today, one of my outfits was a corset from Victoria Secret Runway Show 2015. Have we ever asked ourselves why is it such an amazing thing to see those beautifully made garments at the show but it became unacceptable and inappropriate as soon as it walked away from the spotlight?  

Boys and girls, starting from their teenage years, learnt from porn that pubes should not exist in this world and bushes are a myth. We take inspirations from fashion and porn, we secretly worship the perfect 'fake' tan and the toned ab lines, we dreamt of waking up one day and having a porn star's body and celebrity's fashion sense.

But hey, turn around and look at yourself in the mirror.

You are just as beautiful.  

People's reaction

Another interesting perspective is to look at people's reaction as passers-by. The quick glance, the awkwardness, the not-sure-where-to-look. Driven by curiosity but avoiding looking out of many reasons. It could be anything from showing respect to feeling embarrassed. 

 

 


In the main time, please support my friend's project at 202_Gallery, Central Saint Martins:

(text from the exhibition)

"Pt1 // Send Nudes"

Pt 1: send nudes is the inaugral show of 202 gallery’s group exhibitions, showcasing works from artists across a multitude of different courses and colleges within UAL. send nudes addresses notions of sexuality, the male gaze, the symbolic juxtaposition of nudity vs. nakedness, eroticism in contemporary art and the concept of “the nude” in art history as well as its current role as a form of sexual communication in the digital age. 

The exhibition comprises work by Paul Aaron Collins, Samantha Sun, Adelaida AE, Tori Atherton, Lola Mercadal, Irini Khenkin and Sandy Bhamra.