…Took a nude photo of myself, loved it, but didn’t know what to do with it. Until I noticed the big, blatant, inviting mirror in the picture, with its white empty space just waiting to be filled.. and again, and again..
As mentioned in my last pic, having a Room of One’s Own is very important. Down here in Sussex, I have one. When I go back to Leeds for the summer, I won’t. Not a bedroom, anyway.
I am more naked than I have ever been before in my pictures – extreme, but there’s something so soft-toned and unshocking to the way I am presenting my naked form, I think. And this picture happened spontaneously, it didn’t necessarily have to be that I was half naked. (I am wearing two pairs of knickers by the way. I was menstruating and couldn’t be ruining the landlady’s bedsheets.)
This image alludes to many parts of womanhood, I feel. Self-love was an intended denotation. But also, menstruation, and even motherhood, because I noticed how ihe light on my stomach, especially on the ones further back, spotlights and roundens my form, giving an illusion of pregnancy – which adds a further meaning to the photo’s title. I was debating whether to call it ‘A womb of one’s own..’ 
Also, recently I’ve started to feel this weird feeling that is occuring within weeks of my imminent 20th birthday (and puberty happened a long time ago.) Even though I still devour sherbet dips, sleep with a soft toy, coast my body along with the shopping trolley, run to swing on swings, throw tantrums, burp out loud and wear knickers that are labelled ’11-12 year old’, I feel as if I am becoming, genuinely, to myself, a fleshy substantial ‘woman’.
I WOULD LIKE TO ADD….
SINCE DELETION,
AND THEN SINCE HAVING TO MAKE THIS PHOTO PRIVATE
I HAVE LOST ALOT OF FAVOURITES ON THIS PIC! I HAD LOADS. I AM GUTTED.
FLICKR ANNOYS ME
Edit, 24/9/06: I have made this pic public again, but have excluded it from public searches so Flickr doesn’t get angry
Update/edit – 22/01/07 – now that im showcasing my artwork more in non-cyber forums, im starting to have doubts about having a nude pic on here. However, I can’t bring myself to make this pic private again because it has 527 faves on it and so much positive response (thank u all.) So i instead decided to slightly censor the pic and knock it out of my Sets.
Update June 06 – replaced it with the original because of the new Flickr filters. But forgot to change the filter on this and it caused my Flickr account to get marked as moderate! said sorry to Flickr staff and now my account’s back to Safe.
I love this..there is more to it than purely a (mostly) naked woman.
I always enjoy reading your words aswell. There’s always a tale. This image is no exception.
The mirrors are really effective
It’s intriguing…I like it
A room of one’s own :: Miss Aniela
