There is no escaping the body. Each of us occupies this mass of tissue, muscle, bone and skin we call our body and we all own complex feelings about it, some positive, some negative. We have good days and bad days, often dependent on the perceptions of others.
This new work explores my relationship to my own ‘disabled’ body, both personally and in connection to society’s view of what is normal or perfect. It continues where my portfolio “I Am My Body” left off, delving into the discomforts and insecurities that come with pain, the pleasures and delights of what could be or what in fact is just the reality of my body. Each photograph is a small tale or contemplation that exists and evolves within my body at any time. As a whole, the project reflects longings, desires, hurts and limitations as well as mapping the physical history of my body.
The photographs also contain memories. The act of photographing myself repeatedly brought forth remembrances of surgeries and falls, of other people’s stares and their reactions to me. Many of the photographs utter the unkind words or enquiries that are often asked without consent, catching me off guard, and sometimes shocking me into remembering that I was supposedly different from everybody.
But actually this is a falsehood. The truth is there is no such thing as the perfect body as society will have you believe. The body pictured here might just as well be yours with the same longings, desires, insecurities and abnormalities as mine. It’s just pictured a little bit differently.
All images are printed in the darkroom on 16"x 20" Ilford semi-matt warm-tone paper and toned in gold.
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| Emergence |
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| Pin-up |
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| This Might Be Your Body |
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| Body Is Experiencing |
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| Look At Me |
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| Spastic |
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| This Body Is Just Strange |
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| Disregard |
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| Thoughts of Venus |
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| Flawed |
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| Balancing Act |
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| Guarded |
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| In A Perfect World, There Is The Perfect Body |
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| Reflection |
All images © Claire Gilliam
1 comment:
its so funny i was um looking at images on google for the words "perfect world" to create a motivational email for work, any way i stumble upon a pic that took me to this website so i read the article which is very interesting; with that said i just wanted to add that i believe a body can be expressed in more ways than one; for example a picture of a smile can interpret body as comfortable, while the eyes can state uncomfortable. well i guess my point is the "mass" called or pertaining to the body jus doesnt completely capture the idea or essense "the body" because simply it's much more than exterior any way i like the pictures especially reflection & emegence! keep up the good wrk
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