Image Source: http://www.jodibieber.com/index.php?pageID=17&navLay=3
Bieber’s body of work has been very inspiring and brave to challenge the concept of beauty. There has been much speculation to what beauty truly is yet there is no true answer. Everyone has their own view yet the media feeds the ‘fair-skinned, slim and sleek’ look as the typical beauty so we are forced to sallow this perception. Bieber goes against this and wants to show the real life people, not airbrushed but as beauty comes in the majority of the population; she focuses on shooting in her native country: South Africa. It is interesting to see how she addresses various themes such as race and body image in such a conservative nation. Shooting her subjects half-naked shows confident women in their entirety, not hiding their true body and shape. I am particularly drawn to the above photograph as I rarely seen a South Asian woman in just a bra and underwear, let alone being middle aged. This is due to cultural norms that don’t condone showing naked flesh as it conjures negative perceptions on the woman. I like how the woman in this image stands up for Bieber’s ‘Real Beauty’ project and that she looks proud of whom she is. The fact that Bieber shoots the portraits in the sitter’s home gives the viewer a sense of who the person is and makes the project even more personal. The little details such as the blue hanger and flower bed sheet shows how this image is constructed up to point, but the environment seems untouched. Usually I prefer portraits with a shallow depth of field and the background blurred, however in this case the background is as much in the foreground as the sitter is. Though the sitter is conscious of the photographer, in this series the subjects all seem rather relaxed and Bieber’s approach certainly eases any anxiety the women in the photographs had.
Image Source: http://www.jodibieber.com/index.php?pageID=17&navLay=3
As my current project looks at the concept of beauty and the relationship with the media, especially the fashion industry I am enthralled to have come across Beiber’s ‘Real Beauty’ project as her themes confronts the ‘ideal’ beauty and raises questions on what it is. I like how Bieber finds it within and in her interviews she states her findings that ‘most women believe that there is no real perfect body shape, and that beauty is more about being healthy and feeling comfortable in one’s own skin’; this corroborates with my survey I posted on Facebook on what my friends thought beauty in people was. See my survey responses here.
Read an article on Jodi Bieber's work discussing 'Real Beauty' on Visura Magazine.
Useful Links:
Jodi Bieber http://www.jodibieber.com/
British Journal of Photography - 'Sister Show' by Diane Smith http://www.bjp-online.com/british-journal-of-photography/profile/1646030/sister
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