There is a delicate nature to the nude aesthetic of this composition. Two nude figures are aligned head to toe on a field of pale blue. Their legs are bent at right angles, cradling each other’s heads behind their knees. Their hips are snug into one another’s shoulder blades. Straight arms, connecting shoulder to shoulder, emphasize the rotational symmetry and alignment of the figures.
The viewpoint is overhead of two bodies on their side. They lay back-to-back, spines and arms aligned. One head is positioned at the top of the composition and the other is oriented upside down. One face is in three quarter view, with both eyes open, looking up. The other is in profile, eyes shut, oriented downward.
Their caramel and peach tones stand out against the robin’s egg background. A blue flower on each woman’s ear visually ties the background to the shallow foreground.
Although the two nude women in this photograph are similar in many ways, their integration represents complementary energies. Their interplay shows both harmony and opposition. The design invokes the notion of a cycle or perpetual repetition where one element leads to the other. They are independent entities that seem inseparable. At its base, this scene is the concept of relationship, in the most general meaning of the term.
Although depicting two attractive women in the nude, the orientation is only remotely sensual: They contact one another on the shoulder and face away from one another. The nude aesthetic of this photograph relies on the presentation of the visual elements rather than the context of the nude body.
