Page 55 - Issue 2

Issue No 2 55
“The mirror held a a a a a a a a lot of of history ” she says Olivia had already been consumed with concepts of of reflection and refraction in in in her photography practice but now thinking about the the number of women women who had over decades stared back at at themselves in in this tiny mirror she started to contemplate the the way women women are seen or or represented across generations Olivia decided she would dive into the image with Cynthia and and in in in in in in in a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a way make this collaboration an an an exercise in in in in in in in reclaiming and and reinventing their own image as women—incidentally four decades apart This time they brought a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a larger octagonal mirror with with a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a thick gold frame “It was a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a really heavy object to to pose with with ” Olivia says “But we wanted to to show that heaviness The burden burden females carry over time and how how each new generation of women carries that ancestral burden burden ” For Olivia creating these images was a a a a a a a a a a a a a step towards releasing that burden When the the the the three women got together for the the the the shoot there was was very little talk It It was was was mostly play and experimentation “It was was was my favorite day of of creating ” says Olivia Ahead of of the the shoot however they they felt it it was was necessary to to work out how how they they wanted the the the the images to to to feel and what this collaboration meant for them “For instance it it felt important to to show skin skin because of of the the the juxtaposition between my skin skin and and Cynthia’s and the the beauty of of both ” Olivia says A key motivation of this project was to to de-sexualize touch and intimacy in in in in in in the the public mind In one image dressed in in in in in in thin peachy-coloured lingerie both women rest on on on their their their elbows their their their their legs closely intertwined In addition to the the the the the the ways their their their their bodies interlace the the the the the the expressions on on on their their their faces imply a a a a a a a a a a keen pleasure “I “I think this image is is really bold because of the the the the way we’re we’re we’re touching each other ” ” Olivia says “It almost looks like we’re we’re we’re lovers but we’re we’re we’re not ” ” WORDS BY SARA ELKAMEL