Topless/Shirtless
Topless/Shirtless is a series of photographs that uses pairs of male and female torsos to contemplate the social indecency of female breasts and nipples. Censor strips are created from each photograph and transposed over its opposite to explore the similarities between male and female anatomy, exposing the outdated and linguistically loaded word “topless”. The Oxford English dictionary defines topless as: (of a woman) having the breasts uncovered. Its connotation is evidence reflecting how deeply misogyny is embedded in the subconscious of Western cultures, how being female makes you an other.
Topless/Shirtless is a comparison of the language used to describe males and females without shirts on in public space, but is also an opportunity to explore what the sexes have in common by altering the perception of what male and female bodies can look like. Its goal is to unify the sexes by visually putting one in the other’s place.