
Art and female sensuality are controversial and closely linked elements that society has greatly influenced. Modern artists are forced to create work that focuses on feminine sensuality while balancing intimacy and the necessity for women to conform. Society’s obsession with sexualizing female bodies has brought about a divide between those who view it as natural and those who oppose those ideas. The simplicity in Amanda Charchian’s photo series may appear to reveal very little, but the model’s represent greater ideas about society, sexuality, nature and the importance of women’s unity. Within her photo series, the photographer is trying to convey a powerful visual message about reclaiming women’s sexual freedom through nudity, color, and themes of harmony.

Charchian’s photography reveals a need for connection between women through the use of nudity and uniformity.  The models in the first photo are representative of a woman in modern society and the photographer uses their bodies as a canvas to illustrate the problems that persist with modern society.  The models take up the majority of the frame and are very balanced in order to make the smaller elements show in more significant ways.  The lack of facial expression shown in the photo allows the viewer to fill in assumptions about the women based on other societal factors.  Society’s obsession with wealth and beauty dramatically effects the way that women are viewed especially in terms of social class.  The photographer’s illustration of this idea is found through the selective placement of jewelry on the models.  The jewels symbolize the social class system as another major factor in the degradation of women as free thinking and feeling individuals.  The use of nudity, aside from jewels, is a way to show the inconsistent beauty standards for women as well as the stigma of nudity in modern society.  Just as clothes reveal something about a person, nudity and lack of clothing can also reveal something.  One of the other significant elements within the photo is the braid.  The models’ intertwining braids are representative of the need for unity on the topic of sexual freedom.  The photographer is trying to reveal a greater issue about the way society forces women to conform to ideas of sexuality, the braid is what brings women together to fight for a common cause. The photographer does this as a way to inspire women to join together to reclaim their natural human bodies. 

The photographer’s perspective on female empowerment can be easily revealed through the use of point of view and nudity. The birds eye view perspective in the second frame more effectively shows the unity of the women through their circle of braided hair.  Charchian’s very centered and god like perspective on the women strongly reveals the unity of the women, as if they were one single organism.  Although the previous image in the series incorporated a braid, the braid in this photo is far more predominant.  The models’ intertwining red hair can be representative of rebellion while their contrasting white skin represents purity. The pale models lay out on the ground in a stance that does not flaunt the idea of nudity but uses it more subtly. The model’s backs are the only thing that is showing in the photo so the viewer is able to assume the models are completely naked, but it is not explicit within the photo. The photographer uses nudity casually in attempt to break down the oversexualizing of women and the stigma that society places behind it.  The photographer is able to use color as a contrasting element in her photos in order to relay a message of what an “ideal woman” should be like in society. The simplicity of the colors Charchian uses in her photography helps reveal the greater message about female sexuality and the societal beauty expectations.  Similar to the previous photo, the model’s faces are not visible, but there is visible jewelry.  The jewelry, although less predominant in this photo, continues to serve as a symbol for social status and how women are valued and ranked.  Through this simple design, the photographer is able to show that women are valued for only their bodies, hair, and as a medium for men’s desire. This photo is a great illustrator of the complex expectations for women in modern society. 

Charchian’s final photo takes an opposing setting from the others in order to illustrate nature as a means of reclaiming the female body in society. One model is centered in the frame and is included in a forest environment to highlight female sexuality and the female body as natural. Similar to the other photos, this one incorporates braided hair. In contrast to the other photos, there is one model whose red hair is braided around a tree to symbolize the unity of the human body and mother nature. Her hair is braided because she is one with nature and her own body. In opposition to the photos where the women are braided to each other, she is in nature just as a tree or another animal would be. If the colors were not highly contrasting, perhaps the viewer would not see the naked women as unique or strange, but an average viewer in the modern society views the nipple and the female body as a taboo topic. The photographer is trying to break down this barrier between society, nature, and modern female sexuality through her photos. It is ironic that in the last frame the models’ nipples are blurred. The photographer did not intend this, but the social media platform she uses to publish her art does not view the natural female body as a socially acceptable form of art. The societal influence in the media directly opposes the photographer’s ideas about the nipple as a natural part of women. Charchian’s photo is bringing to light a message of nature as a way to reclaim the female body as natural and socially acceptable. 

The idea of nudity and social class can be easily emphasized by bringing in nature as a way to reclaim female sexuality.  Charchian’s photos serve to illustrate the need for a reclamation of women’s sexual freedom.  Photography is one of the easiest and more effective ways to convey a message to a wide audience, especially with the modern prevalence of social media. Charchian takes an issue in the social atmosphere and translates it into visuals that simultaneously please the eye and light a fire for those fighting towards a cause. The photographer creatively plays on the idea of conformity, unity, purity, and nature as a way to break out of social norms and break down the patriarchal system of oppressing women for their bodies.  With her art, Charchian has created a new way for the female body to be viewed – in its least artificial state.
