Proclaimer

In the short time span between the Great Void Before Birth and the Great Void After Death, I can think of few better ways of spending my life than on the respectful and collaborative creation of nude art. I am committed to create a safe and enjoyable working environment first, before anything else, this is paramount to achieve the free flowing of movement, inspiration and creativity. For this, I want you to know that if you are working with me: you are my hero and you can count on me to respect your boundaries at all times. You don't have to take (just) my word or my references for this: you're always welcome to bring a friend to a shoot.

My view on art and nudity

Hello and thanks for reading this. Since I have gotten into art as one of the main ways to spend my time, this topic has been brewing in my mind for quite a while. The body is the main subject of my artistic expressions, and the female body in particular. I'll go into the wy a bit further below, but I'll suffice here that I simply think it is the most beautiful, aesthetic and expressive in the universe.

If you like to know what I do and make: have a look at my sculptures page, and my photography portfolio on PurplePort.

There are several aspects of nudity and the human body that make it ideal for artistic expression. First of all, the human nude is immediately recognised by most as separated from the usual cultural context. As "clothed apes", humanity sets itself apart from the rest of nature, and nudity is mostly reserved for special occasions: sleeping, washing, (sometimes) swimming, making love, the sauna. That's about it. Isn't that weird?

This inversion of unclothed nature (for better or worse) is to the artist's advantage: we can bring back the beauty of the human form and set it aside from daily practice. In its artistic form, it's "OK" again to gaze at what we (literally) shy away from. The artistic art nude creates its own context in which we can, to some limited and very temporary extent, be re-acquainted with our beautiful, natural self.

Yes, I do believe that because of this cultural context, any art nude portrayal carries some level of eroticism, even (and sometimes more so) the fully implied nude.

Geometric implied on a worn couch

Geometric implied on a worn couch

Image taken by me, performed by Cariad Celis, ©2023

Photography

The focus in my photography usually is on art nude, but rarely on "bits", also known as the human reproductive system. I don't believe that there's something wrong with bits (on the contrary), they are as beautiful as, or maybe even more beautiful than any other part of the human body. But including them, for example, in photography shifts the focus towards them. Bits tend to dominate the concept of the image, which is fine if it is the concept.

Sculpture

My sculptures do include bits, if they portray the nude human form. To purposefully exclude certain parts of the human body in sculpture just seems silly to me. Because sculpture is already more abstract than photography, bits don't draw as much attention. Another aspect is that the crotch isn't as easily hidden in sculpture as it is in photography: in 3D you simply choose a different viewing angle. So: I wouldn't leave out an ear or a hand, why would I leave out bits in sculpture and leave a human incomplete?