Nude beauty in all shapes and sizes

For over two decades, Martine Payne has found inspiration in the female form.

The Sydney-based photographer had been shooting her ‘motherhood sessions’ – stripped back family portraits – for a number of years, when she noticed a common theme in the experience of her clients.

“I was shooting these individual sessions, and I was seeing the reaction I was getting from women stripping down, being really unsure and then feeling so rewarded and impressed with the results and their own beauty. I decided that I wanted to magnify the scale,” Payne told The Jewish Independent.

A social media callout followed, and Payne recruited 15 diverse women aged between their early 30s and late 70s to volunteer for The Body Project – a photography exhibition and event series celebrating women in their rawest state.

While Payne knew the photos would likely elicit a response similar to those who participated in her professional portraiture, she did not expect the participants to have such an affecting experience.

“It was so moving and humbling to speak to the women about their time being photographed,” said Payne, who shot the portraits individually and anonymously.

“Coming together and feeling vulnerable in something that was so beyond their comfort zone was very powerful. Every single person said it was a huge challenge for them, but after their shoot, they came back transformed.

“The exhibition no longer became about me and my art, it’s about these women and the experience they had.”

The exhibition, premiering in Clovelly next week, has been curated by Saul Flaxman, with a suite of accompanying events – including a life drawing class, as well as a therapeutic body image workshop and panel discussion on body acceptance run by arts psychotherapist Lana Sussman – reinforcing its key messaging.

Participants joined the project for a variety of reasons: from a postpartum mother celebrating the achievement of her body, to an older woman reacquainting herself with her physique, and another woman promoting body positivity and embracing her larger figure.

“I joined the project to challenge some uncomfortable narratives I hold around my body and to break the cycle of unhealthy dialogue for the sake of my children. I want to be the model I didn’t have going up,” one participant said.

“Projects like this are important as all we see in social media, TV, movies and magazines are unrealistic versions of the 'perfect' woman. It's important for ourselves and for young girls coming behind us to know what a true woman looks like,” another participant reflected.

For many of the women, the shoot importantly removed common self-criticism, replacing it instead with an opportunity to engage with their bodies and challenge societal stigma that downgrades fatness, age and scarring.

Payne said this outcome was the “whole point” of the photography collection – one she plans to continue growing each year.

“When we see nude women, it's generally sexualised for the male gaze. I wanted to focus on having the female form for beauty’s sake. I wanted women to feel comfortable in their own skin and realise that we all have beautiful rolls, dimples and scars.

“Taking the images off camera and putting it on a wall highlights the fact that these photos are art and belong in a gallery.”

The Body Project runs from 21 to 25 August 2024 at 7 Clovelly Road Gallery in Sydney.