Goddess Portraits explores seeing and being seen in the full complexity and radiance of the feminine through the lens of a camera. The series is focused on the process of being photographed and the emotional states of being seen with all that is present. The series showcases the infinite faces of the goddess taking finite form in all living beings. It expands the stereotype of “feminine” and supports the healing of the collective wounds around it. Every being is unique and yet of the same source, so, by default, divine.
Do you want to go on a Goddess Portrait journey? I offer Goddess Portraits also on commission, contact me for details!
Saana – Nature and heritage
”At first when I looked at the photos I was surprised how I look more relaxed than normally, like I am trying not to be someone or something. As an actress it was hard not to pose or try to achieve a certain result, but then the joy of nature around me took over when I found a bird’s nest with eggs in it in the tree. It was so beautiful so I forgot about what I was doing.
My relationship to femininity is complex. I allow myself be the girly girl but I am still trying explore letting myself be other things as well. To me the essence of femininity is a combination of nurturing and strength. Soft and hard. The duality is always there when I explore my idea of femininity – especially when I explore my relationship to women in the Finnish culture and past generations.
I love to be soft and nurturing without building a wall between my emotions and the world but I don’t want to be diminished just to that one role. I think patriarchy tries to deny the complexity of the feminine. To strip it down to either the soft and delicate or the beautiful and hard, controlled cell.
When I look at the photos I see myself connected to nature and my heritage. It gives me a sense of the strength that I feel I am sometimes missing.”
Olgaki – It ends with me
“I connect my hair to the main compliments I get for my body: my beauty, my femininity, my sexiness… Maybe one more reason to cut it off? Bye mainstream role models! This is how the people around me know and picture me; the stereotypical sweet girly woman look of long hair and patriarchal beauty model. It made me feel insecure, but I was curious what else would come up to the surface if this part of my body would change.
When looking at the pictures I feel what I felt when we were taking them together: safety, fun, authenticity, freedom to express all that is not so acceptable elsewhere, proper and mainstream; hurt, anger, resentment, revolutionary fire for self protection and reclaiming our rights as women, as humans to be and look like we actually are, feel and want to be in every moment.
Feminine for me means something different in each situation, and the freedom to embody that. Whether I’m working in the garden connecting to the plants and mother earth, preparing a cake or a snack for a loved one or working on a project to practicing the perfect eyeline or dancing as a hippopotamus just because I can.
I decided to consciously cut off my traumas and parts I was ready to leave in the past. At the same time, it seemed as a pretty good way to start into a new chapter, arriving into spring. Sometimes I get a bit challenged about not seeing myself as “pretty or feminine” in the mirror, but then I remember why I did it and I feel into the craziness, lightness, self-empowerment, exploration and opportunity to decide who I want to be and I find my way back into my grounded center.”