Free the Nipple: An “Amazones” Show

free the nipple

The Free the Nipple movement came to life mainly due to Instagram’s policy of censuring and deleting pictures where nipples were shown. Fashion photographer and feminist activist Sylvie Castioni and art critic and curator Nikita Dmitriev bring this manifest to life in their new exhibit, “Amazones”. The show is on for a limited time at the Paris-based Galerie Duretis and offers a true mirror of women’s empowerment in the 21st century.

After so many years of women feeling objectified, this display represents the act of owning back the power women have over their bodies. As Castioni said, “I speak to all women in the world subject to taboos and shame to tell them that their body isn’t an object of desire not belonging to them, but that it’s powerful and marvelous.”

This Free the Nipple campaign counts big stars such as Léa Seydoux, Cindy Bruna, Loulou Robert, and Barbara Palvin. The pictures themselves are also a take on iconic paintings. Where Seydoux’s portrait references François Boucher’s “The Blonde Odalisque”. Bruna’s resembles the Tahitian beauty of “Woman Holding a Fruit” by Paul Gauguin. And Palvin’s reminds us of Botticelli’s “The Birth of Venus”. All through the lens of Sylvie Castioni.

It is also no wonder the choice behind the well-known Parisian gallery: Galerie Duret. A staple for all things fashion and design.

It will always be refreshing to see women being unafraid of their identity. The use of our bodies is nothing less than empowering and freeing. The control we have over ourselves can never be taken away. And that is what we see from this curated exhibition by Sylvie Castioni and Nikita Dmitriev.

Find more information about the “Amazones” exhibit, see here!

Words by @madforyou_lhm
All photos copyright by Sylvie Castioni


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