Body Image

With this piece, we wanted to create a sensory exploration of the body as both a subject and an object. We wanted to explore what it means to be so closely perceived by someone else.

Through fragmented, overlapping images of different bodies in harsh, colorful lights and shadows, we wanted to explore the relationship between intimacy and identity. By focusing on the human form with all the skin, curves, lines, and shadows blurring together, we want to create a sense of confusion about where one body ends and another begins.

The accompanying poem is layered and heavily inspired by our subjects’ initial reactions to seeing themselves filmed. It reflects the emotions and complexities that come with being perceived: honesty and discomfort but ultimately release and “acceptance.”

Our goal is to challenge the audience to sit with the strangeness and beauty of bodies outside of familiar framing and societal norms. It is as much about how we are looked at as how we come to see ourselves.