with her i: the curse of menarche
The project takes inspiration from the reclining nude in Renaissance painting. Although those images were created through the male gaze and often reduced women to objects, the bodies shown felt more real. They were soft, unedited, and closer to lived experience than the highly altered ideals seen in modern media. Returning to that pose offered a way to shift its meaning and explore it from a different perspective.
This is a reclining nude seen through the female gaze. The women are modern, and so are their bodies, marked by the details of everyday life: tattoos, nail polish, jewellery, body hair, scars, acne, stretch marks, and sweat. Each body carries its own narrative. It was important for me to show the body as it is, without the mystification shaped by centuries of male desire. While these women are also in the nude, they are not sexualised. They are present, grounded, and celebrated. They take ownership of their own bodies.
Each session was quiet and collaborative. Our conversations went beyond menstruation and into how the body is seen and felt, how it changes, and what it holds. The red fabric became a recurring element, introduced by each participant in their own way. It carried different meanings including blood, shame, softness, power, and transformation.
I used a medium format digital camera to slow the process down and stay close to detail. The series pairs black and white portraits with colour images to create space for stillness, vulnerability, and quiet strength. This is not a return to the classical nude but a reframing of it through shared experience and personal memory.