body cult
Photographer Agnieszka Rice, in her Beautiful Bodies project, looked into the closed world of people obsessed with the beauty of their own bodies and ready for years of grueling training for this.
Among the American culture that flooded into the countries of Eastern Europe in the 80s, bodybuilding occupied a special place with its brutality and the cult of unnatural pumped bodies. In Poland, the bodybuilding culture is still thriving: gyms are extremely popular in the country, and Polish athletes win all kinds of world-class competitions almost every year. Work on the project was carried out for several years: from 2008 to 2010.
These glossy photographs are a bit alienated: we are watching the heroes of the photographs as if from the side. What is going on inside them? Are these people working on the beauty of the individual or are they only concerned with the body? Is a mountain of muscle beauty at all? Are the health benefits of bodybuilding obvious when athletes have to use so many steroids? These questions remain behind the scenes. But what there is no doubt about is the passion and determination of these people. Strong bodies hide at least strong personalities.
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Keywords: Bodybuilding | Body | Workout