In my project I portray what larger women represent to me. I focus on their fullness and femininity, as a form of protest against discrimination often set by media and by today’s society. In my project I portray what larger women represent to me. I focus on their fullness and femininity, as a form of protest against discrimination set by media and by today’s society. What larger women embody to me is simply a different form of beauty. I believe we own ‘freedom of taste’ and one shouldn’t be reluctant of expressing his inclination towards it. Limiting this freedom is living in a dictatorship of esthetics. I believe there are several ways to what is perceived as beauty, it is not measurable and has not got a standard size. I photograph my models nude and serene, to create a comfortable, proud and constructive representation of themselves in front of the viewer. I believe there are several ways to what is perceived as beauty, it is not measurable and has not got a standard size. I photograph my models nude and serene, to create a comfortable, proud and constructive representation of themselves in front of the viewer.
I didn't know a lot about larger women when I first started photographing them. It was only after the first photo shoot with one of my models I started to figure out there was a whole world around it and that it was almost a subculture unknown to people who are considered 'normal'.
There are women that are proud of being big and see themselves attractive that way and have an incredible number of male admirers. They often gather themselves in different cities throughout the U.S. and the rest of the world almost to define their identity as a community while trying to convince society to accept by exposing themselves in different kind of ways through the media, in the arts, in street parades, blog activism, literature and on the internet.
One of the things that really astonished me was the extreme confidence with which these women dropping their clothes off revealing to me their beautiful massive bodies.
I felt disarmed by how little I knew about people with a different human condition than mine... And fell in love with the beauty I quickly discovered in them... The beauty in the strength of these ladies trying every single day to fight against discriminations and prejudice. The hard time finding a job or simply going to a restaurant knowing that people there will stare at them trying to see how much they will eat...And the list of situations like this is long!
What was important to me was that through my photography the viewer would be put to in a condition where he would be confused about what he sees and hopefully trigger the question in him weather he likes what he sees or not. But I also wanted to give the freedom to the viewer to keep being the stupid small person with prejudice he is... I think that a good photographer should leave that choice to his viewer sometimes.
These women are the living example that beauty is not measurable in any way and cannot be standardized.
Hope you will enjoy the photos!