Bodies and skin

Throughout the project I have been doing observational life drawings, of women of various sizes and shapes. Like the work of Jenny Saville, the bodies I have found the most interesting (visually and symbolically) to draw have been larger ones.

As with Saville's paintings, what appeals to me is the lines and shapes made by the body, so my next piece is a photographic work that focuses in detail on areas of the body that are not generally regarded as "beautiful". I have also drawn significant influence from the work of Giron Mathilde, whose work also focuses on the creases and curves in bodies:

Giron Mathilde, "Fragmentation of the body"

Own images:

The idea of "beauty"

The concept of "beauty" has been explored by artists for centuries, but recently artists such as Jenny Saville have begun to explore "real beauty" and the beauty of the human body in its natural state.

Jenny Saville, "Fulcrum"

Jenny Saville, "Strategy"

Jenny Saville, "Trace"

Jenny Saville, "Plan"

Jenny Saville, "Branded"

Associated with the YBA, Saville is best known for her large-scale paintings of naked women. Unlike many other artists, she paints bodies in a way that shows them as they naturally are, rather than the plastic surgery-enhanced bodies and faces that are often broadcast by the media:

"Her feminist subject matter, of obese and sometimes faceless women with vast bodies, partly originates from a trip to America. It was while studying at University of Cincinnati in Ohio that Saville’s fascination with the workings of the human body began to affect her artwork. Much of her work features distorted flesh, high-caliber brush strokes and patches of oil color, while others reveal the surgeon’s mark of a plastic surgery operation. In 1994, Saville spent many hours observing plastic surgery operations in New York City.

Since her debut in 1992, Saville's focus has remained on the female body, slightly deviating into subjects with "floating or indeterminant gender," painting large scale paintings of transgender people. Her published sketches and documents include surgical photographs of liposuction, trauma victims, deformity correction, disease states and transgender patients"