The title ‘Decent!’ is given to the work as it refers to the legal term ‘Indecent’, meaning ‘not conforming with generally accepted standards of behaviour, especially in relation to sexual matters’ - and is a term used to criminalise the act of being naked in public.
To be naked in public is frowned upon and often forbidden by law. often when we are shown images of the naked body they are manipulated and sexualised. This is the reality in which the younger generation is growing up in, and can lead to a difficult relationship with their own bodies.
Research shows that bodies the young generation of today are exposed to, is often the unrealistic ‘ideal’ bodies they see through film, television, magazines, advertising and social media. One study, which followed 14- and 15-year-olds over three years, found that internalisation of these ‘ideal’ body shapes as presented in the media predicted negative emotions about appearance, which in turn predicted unhealthy eating behaviours.
Naturist communities take pride in being together naked without embarrassment of the shape of their bodies. They feel that being together naked in a natural environment, allows them to feel better about their own bodies, and allows for a more healthy view of what a natural body is.
This series of images are of the UK naturist community photographed in their natural surrounding. The natural censorship and playful nature of these images take away the possible threat of a sexual innuendo and show the body as a non threatening natural part of life.
Many of these images have been composed to cover up the ‘private parts’, but the surroundings and activities that the subjects are taking part in are natural to the people in the images. The covering up is done deliberately to allow the images to be seen on public platform and become a part of a greater discussion about body and nudity.
This body of work started off as a commission but became a long term project, taking over 3 years to complete. As well as images of the community, the project also includes a series of 145 ‘bum portraits’ (scroll down to next personal work post ‘Nothing Butt’ to see this series).
This work and the images of the bums is work that is ready framed and available to be exhibited. The images were already exhibited as a solo exhibition in the prestigious Fotografiens Hus, Oslo, Norway from 8 August - 15 September 2024.
