ANJA confronts the fears and stigmas associated with the perceptions of womenʼs bodies in todayʼs world of unrealistic and idealized standards of how women ʻshould lookʼ. ANJA is about an ongoing exploration of women’s potential, the expansion of their perceptions of self. This series is a search for self-awareness and compassion by reconnecting to our place in the natural world through vulnerability and discovery.
Upcoming Solo Exhibition, Red Gallery, 12 – 29 August 2015, Melbourne
I am not sexualising their form, but on a quest to find self-compassion and emotional awareness in myself and in my audience. Photographing these women helps me in the search for that, and perhaps, helps them to find a moment of self acceptance and recognition, which is deserved and should be encouraged much more within our culture.
There’s a lot to expose of the way we have internalized sexism and sexualised aggression. I feel like I am a witness to women’s conditioning, and I’m trying to offer a different perspective. In my work I want to awaken a preferable alternative. My message is transformative, supporting a questioning of the norm. — Lilli Waters
