The Essence of Beauty
This project gives voice to women from different ethnic, socio-economic and cultural backgrounds, each doing their best to not only accept themselves as who they are, but also to be proud of this. It reflects universal ideas of vulnerability, the need for protection, but also self-confidence, liberation and equality.
Women and girls have been the subject of my work for a number of years - I strive always to create meaningful portraits that represent them as who they really are. Women have been taught for generations from a very young age that their essential duty in life is to be beautiful; that if you don’t fit into conventional standards of beauty you have no value, or at least a much lower value.
I try to give voice to women from different ethnic, socio-economic and cultural backgrounds, each doing their best to not only accept themselves as who they are, but also to be proud of this. I see my job as a photographer to make “ordinary” women more visible and therefore, more valuable.
This project delves into issues of self-perception and identity, investigating what it is that we really value about ourselves. These portraits also seek to establish what the essence of true beauty is – the light from within, an individual’s courage and resilience, their uniqueness, elements that cannot be defined simply by appearance. During 2020, the project continued to develop, reflecting universal ideas of vulnerability, the need for protection, but also self-confidence, liberation and equality.
My series of female portraits aims to empower women of all ages, colours and cultures. All my subjects are photographed free from judgement and labelling, rather with humility, integrity and admiration.