Nude film photography

This is an analog-to-digital artwork: nude film photography processed in a darkroom, then printed digitally. A solitary female nude stands on the bottom rung of a ladder. Her legs are crossed at the knee and she sways away from the ladder, hanging on with one hand which disappears from view at the top of the image.

The eccentric composition presents an array of lines that wander at arbitrary angles. Although the female figure’s torso approximately aligns with the vertical edges of the image, none of the straight lines are parallel to the picture’s edges. This may impart a narrative of searching for balance in an erratic environment.

In an even more unorthodox compositional decision, one of her hand extends out of view and the other hand is hidden behind her head. This gives the feeling of a spontaneous moment, improvised and unrehearsed. The moment is imperfect and conveys an attitude that a perfect moment may not exist. Variations in her skin, under her raised arm and at her neck, amplify the idea of finding beauty in the imperfect.

She gazes in the direction of the viewer, but does not make eye contact. Her expression is carefree and playful. Her stance is whimsical and apparently unrehearsed. The relaxed nature of the subject defies the uneasy balance of the composition. The unexpected configuration raises more questions than are answered in this enigmatic nude film photography.

This is nude film photography, shot on a Hasselblad camera with 120 film, processed in a darkroom, then printed with modern archival inks on cotton paper.