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Written by Emily Stephens (she/her) for The Rising Womxn Zine
In the nude motto: Self-love and celebration of the human body
Many people struggle with their body image; most have been insecure about the way they look at some point in their lives and this has a huge impact on our relationship with our bodies.
When lockdown began, Maddie (she/her) found herself with more time on her hands than ever, something she wasn’t used to and frankly made her really uncomfortable. She turned to art to fill the evenings and empty periods. But like most, she also found herself on her phone a lot more, browsing various social media pages. Maddie was constantly seeing threads about how people were struggling with their bodies during a time where they spent so much time alone; constantly having internal battles about finding motivation to work out or to eat right during these times.
Maddie decided then to turn her hobby into helping people become more in tune with their naked self.
So, what Maddie is trying to help with at ‘In the nude’ is showing her naked volunteers that there isn’t a single type of beauty. There simply isn’t a right or a wrong way to look.
Painting these array of naked bodies is so much more than creating artwork, it’s about sharing honesty, being brave enough to put yourself out there, and to accept and love your naked form. For many of those who got involved it was actually their first time sending a nude image. After seeing their picture turned into art by Maddie, many volunteers said they felt empowered that their bodies were being recognised as art instead of being viewed sexually.
A message from the model: "When I first saw Maddie advertising for models to be painted nude, I instantly thought that I would never be confident enough to do something like that. But the truth is, that thought had more to do with my relationship with my body. Then I realised that confidence comes from within. Maddie’s work is all about celebrating our bodies and I’m hoping that putting myself out of my comfort zone like this can allow me to celebrate my body more"
A message from the model: "I loved seeing all of Maddie's submissions but seeing my own self painted with all the beautiful colours made me feel genuinely emotional and so empowered. It reminded me that not only had I taken a step to picture my fully naked body and show it to someone but it also showed me I was able to see my body in a different light , as an art form. Like many others , I spend so much of my time criticizing my body, missing out on fun because I feel I look fat, overworking my body to the point of exhaustion and feeling I’m only accepted by people if I look a certain way but it’s something I’m working on and being painted like this feels like such a great step. On bad days it’s easy for my mind to be clouded by negative ways of thinking about myself but I think having this painting hung up will be a gentle reminder to quit being so hard on myself and just to take a moment to realize the natural and vulnerable beauty of my body without all the chaos and comparison from the outside world . Every time I look at the painting I feel like I could cry a bit because I’m overwhelmed with love for myself and my body- not just because of what it looks like but because of all the wonderful things it allows me to do. Moments like this are so special they must be celebrated- they are a sign of growth and mental progress."
⚠️ Trigger warning - assault ⚠️ A very poignant message from the model: "In 2018 I was followed home by a man who saw a drunk girl alone on a train as an opportunity. The next day, my body was just a reminder of where he had been. I remember curling into a ball on the shower floor and wondering whether, if I stayed there long enough I'd stop existing, and would stop living in a body that felt so uncomfortable and unsafe.
Two years on, and I'm slowly finding ways to appreciate myself and my body again. I went to therapy, joined a gym, started fashion modelling, and started to be my own person. Having this painting done has been a really fun part of the process of learning accepting myself again. I absolutely love the result, and I'm so happy to have this painting as a reminder of how far I have come. Thank you so much Maddie!"
A message from the model: “After the birth of my 2 children , too many sleepless night, poor eating and thinking that I was never going to look like the “ pre-pregnant ME” my body positivity was at an all time low..., 4 years later and I am still not back to my pre- pregnant ME, but I have come to love the new ME, lumps, bumps, curves, stretch marks and all !! Thank you Maddie for my painting, it gave me a new perspective on myself, a positive one and I shall proudly hang my painting on the wall for everyone to see”
A message from the model: "My relationship with my body took a massive hit when I caught a disease that made me loose a lot of weight, dropping two stone in a month. It had such an impact on my body image but also on how I felt as young woman, my period stopped for almost 8 months and the extreme weight loss meant I was really flat chested. I absolutely hated the way I looked for a few years. It took a long time to get back to a healthy weight and since this I have always hated being called "skinny". Now 5 years on I'm in such a better place. A real turning point for me was finding my passion for keeping fit, I never wanted to be called skinny again, I wanted to be seen as someone strong and be happy in my body.
But still, loving your body is really hard. There are days when I am so critical with myself, feel very self conscious and definitely push my body too hard. I've learnt to love my small boobs now though and the strength I've gained from getting fit has improved my self confidence so much! I'm proud now to show my naked figure off."
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A message from the model: "I have never been kind to my body, always picking it apart and hating what I am seeing, constantly comparing myself to those around me. This was out of my comfort zone - I was shaking at the thought of it but I can’t believe that these paintings are of my body. I have never felt more empowered - here’s to the beginning of learning to fall in love with my body. Thank you Maddie for making me feel beautiful."
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