MARCO BARBERA
Postures of the naked self

This is a series of nudes in black and white, with dark background as negative space. It studies the symbolism of postures and geometries of the human body and describes human beings whose nakedness forces them to confront to their own self and to what they really are, whether in their greatness or weakness.

The series start with 4 pictures depicting human greatness, showing virtues of balance, strength and agility.

The second half shows the opposite, the weakness of the human being when he hides his true self and is ashamed of what he is. A mind that cares too much about what other think and what social values dictate.

The last image is the extreme side of this weakness, where we can see a headless body. The representation of a body standing on its legs but headless is the representation of a being which is not, because it lost what defines it: its identity and mind. And even worse, it could never find them back.

Author
I’m a nude and portrait photographer. My work is influenced by the sculptors of ancient Greece and by CG Jung's psychology. It focuses on the use of postures and shapes, textures and the play of shadows/lights. The scenes contain few elements: a single subject, lots of negative space, no accessories. The message is transmitted by an isolated body.

For me, clothes do not dress but disguise. They transform the identity. Nudity becomes the allegory of an authentic identity.

Identity is my central theme. Our lives are made of appearances. We put on a mask and we replace our identity with another. This becomes pernicious when the mask begins to condition our identity. Paradoxically, there is always more individualism and less individuality.

The naked individual loses his mask and sees himself as he is: weak and alone in his inner conflict. Nudity exposes this discomfort to encourage the viewer to "return to himself", to become the master of his own identity again and to assume it.

Website
https://marcobarberaphoto.com

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