An ode to the female body. Otte Van Raalte photographed, 30 years old, from Amsterdam
A project that would open her eyes to the way stretchmarks, scars, moles, creases, wrinkles and blemishes together make up a body’s beauty. Over the course of 16 months, she shot 46 women, aged 13 to 94 in their most natural form.
“Most of the time when shooting, it would be a surprise to see the women’s bodies for the first time, there was one lady in the book who is 94, her body has shrunk 15 centimetres in older age. You could see this wave on her belly, her body just became smaller, and I’d never seen that before, it was beautiful.”
Shot at low angles and bathed in light, the photographs focus on normal bodies, celebrating things that society at large deems unsightly.
“I hate the notion that you need to be perfect, that bodies don’t grow old. I’m very much against that.”
“I want people to see the beauty in imperfection and impermanence, this is something we are all scared of and don’t really understand. What we mostly see is not reality. I want people to get a freedom from BODY, to celebrate our bodies instead of constantly judging and criticising them. Our bodies are an incredible instrument, without them, we would be nothing.”
“There will always be more bodies. I could continue this project until my own body gives up on me”
“BODY” will launched on February 20, 2020 at Photobook Cafe, London.