Under Your Skin by Tabitha Soren

Issue 17

My work is about decay and the struggle against it. Each of my projects has to do, in one way or another, with the toll time can take on the home, the body, and the heart. I am interested in how human beings manage to find meaning in their lives despite this.

Under Your Skin is an antidote to the frantic mental states women can experience when it comes to their appearances, especially as they age.  The amazing functions of the human body – moving, holding, giving birth - are eclipsed in contemporary life by how it looks. Bodies are no longer considered simply genetic inheritance, of course, thanks to modern medicine. They are projects to improve, design and update. The varied natural shapes in the landscape images are mixed in with the female figures to provide a model of how these women perceive themselves; a calm acceptance of the presence of diverse forms.  This series imagines a world where more women feel this way when they look in the mirror.

I have been shooting Under Your Skin for over a year and will continue to do so until the contrast between the women in the pictures – in size, in strength, in ethnicity, in age - is as wide-ranging as what I see outdoors.

Tabitha Soren is San Francisco Bay area based artist.
To view more of Tabitha's work, please visit her website.