Michaela Stark, an Australian artist, uses her own body and self-portrait imagery to comment on the ridiculous nature of conventional beauty standards. Michaela does this by creating intricate lingerie that accentuates the parts of the body that society deems ‘unacceptable’ and conditions us to hide.
She highlights the parts of her body that she feels most insecure about, such as her belly, uneven breasts, body hair, cellulite etc. She then photographs herself in these outfits. This results in quite surreal imagery of her morphed, disfigured and sculptural body. Her images, which are somehow very beautiful yet also uncomfortable to look at, engage viewers in questions surrounding beauty and perceived femininity.
