I’m so honoured to be invited to the podcast The Soul Filler by Dr. Rali Gerog where we talk about self-love, body image and art photography.
It was a lovely summer day and I welcomed her in my studio in Poblenou. Here is the full interview - it’s packed with truth, art and real life examples.
Let me know if anything has resonated with you.
Who said IT guys are not photogenic? Or wait, Italians don’t count?
One of my recent clients was the IT professional Francisco, who came to me for the experience. He wanted some photos of himself for professional purposes, but was mainly curious about having professional photographs of himself.
So we did exactly this - changed outfits, backdrops and positions.
What was more surprising but exciting to me was that he wanted some semi nude photographs too. This proved me once again that people are curious and exciting to see such work of themselves. And also proofs me that the work I do is relatable and beneficial for others too.
Thank you for the trust in choosing me as your photographer, Francesco! It was a pleasure having you in my studio!
Through art history the human form has been a subject of investigation, an inspiring form and a way to record the current movement in history. From Greek mythology, through Baroque, New-Classicism and Renaissance, the human form has been an object of investigation, admiration and source of inspiration for the current artists to present day.
My admiration towards the human form has slowly changed my point of view and has become a main inspiration to my work. There was something in it that I’ve always been drawn to, not necessarily understanding why.
In our current age, the body has become an object, often considered inappropriate by its looks or draft that needs fixing. The aim for over perfectionism in our modern times has become an example for generations and an ideal to be aimed. The hyped commercialisation and over exaggerated standard of public figures turned the natural beauty of body differences into to be one of the copy.
It’s is great to have access to software and advanced medicine to be used when necessary, but we lost the idea of how real bodies actually look. We ignore the perfect imperfection of the way Nature works and create. We aim to filter, retouch and adjust everything we can in order to look and feel like somebody else, while missing the main point - we’re all different, we’re all deserving, we’re all beautiful in out own unique way.
Sometimes is hard to fight the ego, to make it understand that what it sees is not what is best. To stop it to aim for something that will cause damage and distraction in the long term. To make it understand what the soul is seeing…
But also this is part of our current reality - to gain control over ourselves, what we consume and how much energy we spent on it. to understand first for ourselves who we truly are, what we are and where we want to go next.
With all the noice, AI and retouch at every corner, looking, accepting and understanding what our body actually is has never been more needed. As this is where each of us lives - inside the given body, the only one we will have in this life and the one we need to make most peace with, instead of fighting it in every step of the way.
We are part of Nature, our bodies are part of Nature and Nature has its own timing, that we don’t fully understand. The divine timing of the universe that moves, shifts and arranges everything and everyone.
So often we fight it all. Our ego wants to call the shots, test its own creator is Nature. Our human desire for control and knowing it all is what drags us back and puts us in uncomfortable situations. Living in this highly materialistic world is not helping us much either. But can we let go a little and learn how to trust? Can we double up on the flow of Nature instead of our singular aim for management?
Our bodies experience it all. By forcing control, we often hurt ourselves physically and mentally. By aiming towards goals, we often pay with our own body health and sanity. By neglecting the needs of our body, we fall into the path of suffering.
How can we help ourselves? - By spending more time in nature, being quiet, listening. By re-connecting with the source we all came from. By acknowledging our own inner voice that guides and supports us in any step of the way, so we know when it’s time to step back and when to jump forward.
If we don’t listen and ignore - we suffer. If we listen, we take the inevitable downsides of life more lightly as they come. Nothing is permanent, all we need to do is find our own balance within this creative realm.
Recently I found out about the work of Dr. Jack Kruse, who treats his patients following the natural flow of Nature, biology and circadian rhythm. He explains and proves how we, as species are intangibly connected with Nature and living agains its laws is what makes us ill. He also shows how mainstream medicine has converted healthcare into a profitable business, convincing us into believing in statements that are absolutely contrary to the way we were build to function as part of this world.
He talks a lot about the body, how to pay attention to it. In my work and through my personal experiences, the body has become a main subject of my interests and everything related to it grabs my attention. I’m far from pretending I know a lot about health, but I do have some experiences that has proved me the truthfulness of the matter. Combined with my visual admiration to how our skin looks, it becomes a subject I have a true passion for.
Our biggest organ is our skin. It is our outfit, the way we look as species. It is also a map that shows our inside health and consequences of damaging thoughts. I struggled with skin issues for years, before I found out that what I eat and how I think about my body have direct effect of the way my skin looks.
The most recent proof I got from Nature. I was born by the sea, in a continental climate, where my skin was exposed to the sun most of the year. At 20 I moved to the UK, where a few years later I’ve noticed I developed a sun allergy. A wake up call. “I can’t have sun allergy, I love my skin being in the sun, it’s one of my main joys!”, I thought to myself. I didn’t go to doctors or took any medication. I ignored the problem, hoping it will disappear. Later I moved to Spain and on the second year of living here, my sun allergy almost disappeared. The rashes of the spring sun weren’t as strong as couple of years back in the UK and I’m sure this year will be even less.
What I’m trying to say? - the sun allergy is not an allergy towards the sun, as doctors say. It is in fact a reaction that the skin makes towards the lack of the sun. As Dr. Kruse says, we’re beams of light, our skin is supposed to get the rays of the sun - this is how we recharge, this is how we get energy. Staying in the dark, hiding form our source or putting creams to protect ourselves is the opposite of what nature asks us to do, or what we’re supposed according to biology and the natural rhythm of life.
Our skin is our outfit and we need to pay attention to it and learn to love and accept it. Being nude, naked, is the way you are indeed in this world. There is no space for shame, for blame, for denial. We’ve been created in such a perfect way, with such detailed connection between our organs, the world outside us and beyond that ignoring it will only cause us damage and inevitably death.
To feel comfortable in your skin is an act of care, of love. To learn to love and accept yourself is making a conscious decision to learn and investigate what gives you life and what takes away from it. When you love who you are and the way you look, you pay attention to yourself and everything inside and around you. To feel the love and accept the body, you also learn about the natural harmony of life. You can’t ignore or hate yourself or your body when you see how connected you are to the whole, how important your role is even being a small one.
Nature doesn’t care of what we thing or want. She creates and destroys, gives life and takes it away. Nature moves, expands and live unbothered of how much agree with its laws. But following them, learning about her and how interconnected we are, can only benefit our short life here on Earth.