The last photograph here mesmerises me, captures me in ways I will try to express: Very rarely one is instantly attracted to the woman, not the garment being sold here. To me the garment she is wearing is a wonderful frame to her stunning face. There is so much depth in Eva's eyes. A canvas would be to underestimate the value of her face and the depth of character and personality it transmits. There are models that are beautiful, certainly as it is a pre-requisite, but who stay flat bodies of beauty. Here Eva shows subtly but ever so strongly how much soul and spirit is within her. She does not pretend to be beautiful full stop. She shows her exterior, which is remarkably perfect but also refuses to go the total perfection route: she does not smile, does not enter the realm of girl-next-door who is always (how?) happy, carefree and in good, positive spirits. Here we see Eva with a half-opened mouth. A mouth that does not speak lasciviously but rather a mouth that knows longing, that knows austerity, want, need. A fully closed mouth has something satisfied, something done. Here the mouth is in an in-between stage. Even her eyes which seem slightly downcast are somewhat expressing pain, sorrow and in some ways foreshadow a woman beneath that is not completely wholesome, happy and confident. The woman above, Eva, is real. One feels for her, with her or simply wants to do so. There is something uneasy, something dark, possibly even depressed, cloudy here that stands in direct opposition to the light colours of the garment which is decorated with an abundance of embroidered leather flowers. Here we readers and observers are not faced with yet another woman using her body to define what the female sex is and needs to look like. Even though it is clear that Eva is a woman, this is not in the centre of the underlying message of this photograph. Her character, her life that is visible through her eyes stands before us. We see vulnerability but also strength which are shown paired together.
I like this photograph because it feels there is humanity portrayed in front of our very eyes. A humanity that is real, not photo-shopped to look fabulous, without flaws, but a humanity that includes those flaws, a humanity that allows those flaws to take centre stage and shine above everything else.
Isn't that the most beautiful thing?
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