Over ten years as a professional photographer, Alessandro Castellani (Alex) has worked with artists from contemporary choreographer Russell Maliphant to Game of Thrones actress and contortionist Pixie Le Knot, as well as covering commercial photography.

This project takes a more intimate approach. Inspired by conversations with female friends, Alex has produced a series of portraits of women across the UK to celebrate their body shapes and interrogate the pressures placed upon them by society to adhere to dominant beauty standards.

Women in the UK undergo around 25,000 cosmetic surgery procedures every year, according to the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons (BAAPS), the most common of which is breast enlargement, with around 7,000 operations carried out yearly. It’s a trend that can be traced back to the early 2000s, when reality TV stars, glamour models and pop stars such as Victoria Beckham super-enhanced their slim physiques with large breast implants. Although the popularity of that supersized look has waned in recent years, the pressure on women to have so-called “perfect” breasts remains.

In his portraiture series Natural Beauty, Alex confronts the idea that women should need to change their looks to feel attractive. Each woman in the series shows herself at her most natural; wearing little to no makeup, her clothes simple and loose-fitting. Each woman faces the camera directly, as a sign of confidence, or perhaps provocation toward the viewer, telling them: “I love my body as it is.”

SELECTED – Royal Photographic Society #164, 2023 – Portrait

Nel corso di oltre dieci anni come fotografo professionista, Alessandro Castellani (Alex) ha lavorato con artisti che spaziano dal coreografo contemporaneo Russell Maliphant all’attrice e contorsionista di Game of Thrones Pixie Le Knot, occupandosi anche di fotografia commerciale.

Con questo progetto, Alex adotta un approccio più intimo. Ispirato da conversazioni con amiche, ha realizzato una serie di ritratti di donne provenienti da varie parti del Regno Unito, con l’intento di celebrare le loro forme naturali e riflettere sulle pressioni che la società esercita affinché aderiscano agli standard di bellezza dominanti.

Nel Regno Unito vengono effettuati ogni anno circa 25.000 interventi di chirurgia estetica, secondo la British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons (BAAPS). Tra questi, il più diffuso è l’aumento del seno, con circa 7.000 operazioni annuali. Una tendenza che affonda le sue radici nei primi anni 2000, quando star dei reality, modelle glamour e pop star come Victoria Beckham enfatizzavano le loro figure snelle con protesi mammarie molto evidenti. Sebbene negli ultimi anni quell’estetica esasperata abbia perso popolarità, la pressione sulle donne affinché abbiano un seno “perfetto” continua a esistere.

Nella serie fotografica Natural Beauty, Alex mette in discussione l’idea che una donna debba sentire il bisogno di cambiare il proprio aspetto per sentirsi attraente. Ogni donna della serie si mostra nella maniera più naturale possibile: poco o nessun trucco, abiti semplici e morbidi. Ogni soggetto guarda direttamente verso la macchina fotografica, come segno di sicurezza in sé stessa, o forse come provocazione verso l’osservatore, quasi a voler dire: “Amo il mio corpo così com’è.”

Natural beauty. Selected – RPS International Photography Exhibition #164, 2023
A woman with black hair, wearing an unbuttoned white shirt and blue jeans, standing barefoot in front of a window with greenery outside.
A young woman with shoulder-length brown hair sitting on a pink cushioned chair near a large window, wearing beige pants and an open white shirt with no top underneath, indoors with wooden flooring and cream curtains.
Young woman with long brown hair sitting cross-legged on a black chair, with an open white shirt and blue jeans, in a room with blue curtains and white sheer curtains with blue floral patterns, natural light coming through the window.
A woman standing in front of a glass door, partially dressed in a white shirt and black pants, with a tattoo visible on her side, inside a room with a plant on a windowsill and a pink cushion on a wooden chair.
A woman sitting on a pink chair near a large window, partially dressed in a white shirt and black pants, looking at the camera.
A woman standing indoors in front of a glass door with blue curtains, wearing jeans and an open white shirt, with tattoos on her arms and no shirt underneath.
A young woman standing barefoot indoors in front of large glass doors, wearing jeans and an open white shirt revealing a tattoo on her lower abdomen, with her hands resting on her hips.
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