Naked enlightenment: a nude artist in difficult poses

Hugging an air mattress, hanging on a TV shelf... Polly Penrose shoots herself in difficult poses, exploring the topic of the heaviness that women experience from the expectations of others.

(13 photos in total)

Source: The Guardian

Crowborough Road, Fireplace (October 2015), from the album "A Body of Work".

Polly Penrose tries to capture herself in the most vulnerable form, wrapped in paper, hanging on furniture or trying to enter a complex asana.

Crowborough Road, satin curtain (October 2015), from the album "A Body of Work".

Using an automatic timer, she places her naked body in a familiar environment, but in an unusual way.

Uncle Richard's house, chest of Drawers (April 2015), from the album "A Body of Work".

Penrose says he doesn't think through his shots in advance. "It often happens that I have never seen a shooting location before, and I never go somewhere with the idea of what the frame will be."

Meynell Crescent (May 2015), from the album "A Body of Work".

"It's often difficult to fit in... the shooting process is like a punishment. It leaves bruises and pain."

Crowborough Road, TV shelf (October 2015), from the album "A Body of Work".

According to the photographer, the process of shooting with an automatic timer is monotonous and tedious. "It's like I'm hammering my body into the perspective of space, one frame at a time."

Rolled up mats (May 2015), from the album "I've Never Been Advanced in Yoga" (I Was Never Good at Yoga).

In her recent series of pictures, "I've never been advanced in yoga," the photographer's naked body is also captured, but the focus has shifted.

Fitness Balls (May 2015), from the album "I've Never been advanced in Yoga" (I Was Never Good at Yoga).

"They are faster and more playful," says Polly about the pictures where she poses with sports equipment.

Blue yoga mats (May 2015), from the album "I've Never Been Advanced in Yoga" (I Was Never Good at Yoga).

"I make sculptures out of the interaction of surrounding objects and my body."

Yellow inflatable mattress (August 2015), from the album "Pool Party" (Pool Party).

In "Pool Party", the artist depicts lifeless scenes with inflatable mattresses: she looks hopelessly and absurdly helpless.

Orange inflatable mattress (August 2015), from the album "Pool Party" (Pool Party).

In these works, according to Penrose, she tries to mock the image of an ideal woman, replicated by the media.

Blue Hose (August 2015), from the album "Pool Party" (Pool Party).

This series is made in slightly dark lighting, which is often used in fashion photo shoots where they do not pose with hoses.

Dandelion (July 2015), from the album "Paper" (Paperwork).

In the album "Papers", the photographer is also interested not so much in the mise-en-scene as in playing out the purpose of the props.

Royal Blue (July 2015), from the album "Paperwork".