In 2015, when the ban on the perfect body was still well entrenched in society, two Canadian women launched a brutal challenge: collecting 1001 buttocks. Objective ? Reconcile women with their bodies. Unheard of for the time, so much so that the two artists are among the pioneers of the movement positive body in Québec. Seven years have passed and today this beautiful, uninhibited project continues to proudly celebrate the beauty of bodies.
“1001 Buttocks“. Here is the evocative name of this project, born in Quebec in 2015. At that time, Emilie Mercier and Frédérique Marseille, both artists from Montreal, had the idea to travel the country in search of female models ready to to undress for a noblewoman. : revealing feminine imperfections (stretch marks, cellulite, scars, etc.) to show their beauty. And if this approach was unusual seven years ago, today it inspires a large number of artistic projects, as Frédérique Marseille explains to POSITIVR:
“When we started the project, we were the pioneers in Quebec. But since 2015, this command has evolved into the perfect body. Right now we see an ocean of projects like this on social networks. I feel like the whole universe is talking about body diversity.”
Now the two artists have a new goal: to photograph models in Europe. This new photoshoot tour will be different from the previous one. †We would like to meet more women with backgrounds and bodies that are less similar to the ones we’ve already met.explains Frédérique, who doesn’t want to “Do not engage in casting, nor in selection that wants to show diversity at all costs.”
This artistic project is not intended to fight against the commandment of the perfect body, but to ensure that women regain their bodies through the image, regardless of their shapes. “The more we start to offer a wide variety of women’s bodies, the less the pressure will be strong.”
Because for Emilie and Frédérique there is nothing worse than adding the complex of having complexes to our complexes, in other words, we have to accept our differences instead of rejecting them. “The first step in emancipation is to accept that we have been disturbed by the upbringing we have been given and from there we can begin a re-appropriation of our bodies.”
“By showing off a diversity of bodies, it’s like countering the overdose and abundance of imagery that wants to force women to look like one model.”
Here is a selection of photos from the “1001 Buttocks” project:
(Photos courtesy of Frédérique Marseille)
To discover the “1001 Buttocks” project, go here.