Exploring the space between clothing and the female body through film photography

Abstract

This dissertation was prompted by the sexualisation that takes place towards the female body, and an interest to explore the multitude of relationships that different women have with their bodies. Expression through both nudity and clothing was explored, through the desk research and also through the practice based research. The research carried out looked into the evolution of nudity in art and photography, various influential artists whose work was revolutionary to the topic, from a psychological aspect through psychoanalysis, and nudity’s acquired attributions to shame and embarrassment, to attempt to understand it’s origins. For the project section, 14 women were photographed, clothed and unclothed, with the exception of those that only chose to be photographed clothed. As part of the methodology, all participants were interviewed, along with interviews carried out with prominent Maltese artists whose work touches upon the field. As for the presentation of the project final work, the photographs were curated into a publication, titled; un / clothed. A safe space for expression was created, from woman to woman.