A collaboration with women athletes in the male-dominated and demanding sport of bodybuilding in America, embracing their emotions, play, performance, and identity.
The element of performance involved in photography is also evident in the challenging and intense sport of bodybuilding.
Days, weeks, months, and years of practice all condensed into a few decisive moments on the stage. And to do that all over again and to challenge the stereotypes of masculinity and femininity requires a certain fortitude and dedication. As a woman, even more so, one has to endure ridicule, admiration, infatuation, derision, and love for choosing your body as a vessel to show your power. And despite everything and anything, you keep going. Sometimes all you have is yourself to believe in.
In photography, too, in the end it all comes down to the "decisive" moment (?) and all the moments of uncertainty and despair before that. Sometimes the "decisive" moment is one of joy, at other times one of desire, or fear, and sometimes just a void.
A marked departure from my earlier works, although still invested in the power of portraits and humanity, I have been photographing athletes in some places across the US in different stages of their journey, after a show or in the preparation towards one, removed from the glamor of just the stage but a slice of life in a quieter, slower, and personal setting.
It has been a fascinating and unique experience learning about what constitutes this sport and the passion behind it.
