Plastic Cells

Plastic Cells is a photographic series that embodies the relationship that fruit and the human body share, and considers female beauty ideals through the vessel of fruit. A selection of organic fruit was photographed at a close range to capture the raw fleshy endocarp, which is the inner layer surrounding cells and seeds. The project used natural sunlight to emphasise how the anatomy of the fruit is structured as well as how succulent and ripe each piece is. Close-up angles create a visceral interpretation while playfully representing the female anatomy in comparison to the fruit’s vessel. Beauty ideals present in a given culture create a desire to hold ourselves to a thin ideal of what we have been shown as the ‘perfect body’. In some of the photographs, a plastic sheet represents the thin veil that women feel they need to mask their feelings about their body image. It can also be seen as a shield used to hide imperfections rather than embrace them. Throughout generations, the standard of perfection continuously changes and with that the meaning of natural beauty diminishes. The idea of having the perfect body constantly lingers, yet this idea is unachievable which is why we tend to hide and change rather than embrace our natural selves.

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Plastic Cells No. 5, 2021  

digital print  

594 x 420 mm

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Plastic Cells No. 9, 2021  

digital print  

420 x 579 mm

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Plastic Cells No. 1, 2021  

digital print  

420 x 420 mm

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Plastic Cells No. 14, 2021  

digital print  

420 x 579 mm

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Plastic Cells No. 6, 2021  

digital print

579 x 420 mm

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