Andrew George’s project, Unfiltered, consist of portraits of women that have shaved their heads. At first glance, you believe it is the same woman photographed in different angles, positions and lighting. As you look more closely, one realizes that these are individual portraits of single women each possessing a juxtaposition of physical and intangible unique qualities.
A resident of Los Angeles, George, is fascinated by the idea that individuals create a persona based on how they want to portray themselves in public. He believes that ultimately this multilayered character hinders the spirit of our inner emotions. Seeking to unveil the veneer in our identity, George is aware of the myriad variety of characteristics that individuals adopt, or unconsciously appropriate when shaping this public face.
In his artist statement, George explains how a female model that he photographed inadvertently inspired this project.
“I began wondering why an attractive, healthy model in this famously glamorous and trendy city would choose to get rid of her hair, an individual trademark that seems to play such a central role in how we are defined. She explained that she wanted to overcome the stereotype of how most of us express what she believed to be a very conventional and predictable definition of beauty, and opt instead for something more striking where the expression of her face and look in her eyes would be clearly seen.”
When taking these portraits, Andrew George does not want to mislead the viewer by allowing the women he photographed to adopt a controlled posture. Instead, he is interested in capturing a distinctive aspect in each of these women’s gaze. For even when wearing clothes, George believes that they are exposed.
He explains, “When photographing these women, I tried to capture something universal—yet elusive—that ordinarily escapes a lot of popular portraiture. I avoided any artifice and pose, and observed that by discarding traditional expectations of femininity, my subjects conveyed a powerful, distilled authenticity. A certain reductive truth emerged from the shadows. My camera was part x-ray, part stethoscope, and I glimpsed a sublime moment in the lives of these individual souls”.
FotoVisura’s Medley–Curated by Adriana Teresa
