For our project Mad About the Boy we are looking for contactdetails of Robin Shaw, Suzanne Greenslade, Harriet Thompson, Jane Ralley, Jane Erskine, and Diana Baylis.
Whose work was part of the book 'What She Wants - Women Artist Look at Men' (1994) by Naomi Salaman. In addition to the photographers, we hope to get in touch with Naomi Salaman.
If there are any other photographers you think shouldn't be missed, we would of course love to hear about that too!
Dirk Kome & Marloes Heineke
Some more info about the project;
We are two Dutch photographers and exhibition curators. In recent years, we have been researching female photographers who have photographed their loved ones nude. This serves as a counterpoint to the endless number of male photographers who have photographed their wives and girlfriends nude.
We have now found over 120 photographers, spread across the Americas, Asia, and Europe. The oldest photos date back to 1915 and the most recent to 2025.
Our project is about love, lust, intimacy and the relationship between woman (as photographer) and man. In extension, we want to raise questions among the viewer about adopting a vulnerable stance within a relationship based on equality.
Finding these images, however, turned out not to be that easy. Museum collections and image archives overflow with nude photos taken by male photographers of their wives/girlfriends. But why are so few images visible of female photographers who have immortalized their beloved naked? Are museums and their public not yet ready for these images? Is the male body not attractive? Do men prefer not to be photographed naked? Or are these photos hidden in boxes and hard drives because women think showing these images will hurt their careers?
The research we began in 2022 is still continuing. By examining the subject across such a broad range of time and geography, it reflects a wide variety of perspectives. It ranges from Imogen Cunningham (US), who photographed her husband as a faun in 1915, to Carla Franke (Germany), who captured her boyfriend with bat wings in 2025. From the conceptual work of Pixy Liao (China) and Snieguolé Michelkevičiūtė (Lithuania) to the more daring work of, for example, Lina Schenynius (Sweden) and Nan Goldin (US).
Comments