So that happened – but maybe I should start at the beginning:
My wonderful photographer friend Dragana Jurisic is currently working on a very interesting project titled “My Own Unknown”. For this she is looking for women willing to be photographed in their nude, their face not seen, a collage of the imperfect perfection of the unknown woman. She asked me if I’d be part of this project, and the good friend that I am, I said yes.
Now being a larger than average model of woman, overweight and not your stereotypical beauty I was somewhat apprehensive and, to be quite frank, terrified. But I kind of figured, how often would I get the chance to be part of a piece of art? So I bit the bullet and pulled down my big-lady knickers.
During the photo shoot, which didn’t take too long, Dragana was quite wonderful. She didn’t look at me, more through me, at something hidden within pulling it out with her lens. As she asked me to turn, to change posture she snapped shots with her camera and it felt completely fine, maybe not normal, but not bad either. After all we have all wandered around our homes in the nip, just this time around there was a quite click capturing a few fleeting moments.
But then she asked me to sit on a chair in a nest of tulle and she took a few straight on shoots, face and all. She kept muttering “Oh that’s strong, stern face, love the feet, great pose…” and I have to say it was interesting playing a live doll for an artist.
So now she has this shot, she finds it beautiful (I think I look a little like an overweight ballerina who has given up and forgotten her bra), so she is thrilled with it and I am glad I could give it to her. However I think I may need to go incognito to that exhibit opening … and I’ll definitely be wearing clothes, maybe even a burca!