I visited Amsterdam in April for my boyfriend Matts birthday. It was really a last minute idea me and his best friend had and i absolutely loved it. The area was beautiful, the hostel was unexpectedly picturesque and the drugs were fabulous. Whilst in the town, we decided as a group to visit some museums. one of these museums happened to be the Sex Museum. Whilst seemingly disconnected from my photography course, this museum had a lot of photography references and exhibitions.
There was one particular room that displayed sex throughout the ages, this was then presented by a range of sexual images depicting women in different positions and poses. Some women looked rather happy whilst some looked downright miserable, this opened my eyes to how women can be portrayed in pornographic imagery. As a photographer who is fascinated by sex and nudity within the art, i really enjoyed the exhibition. I found that the photographs came across as both fun as well as melancholy. Women wore beautiful 1920’s garments and held props such as whips and rope. It was all very ‘daring’ and almost inappropriate for the time period, however in the modern era, some of the images may be considered rather tame and simple.
There was another room in which was branded ‘naughty’. There was no photography allowed within this area as the images were considered to be very, VERY NSFW. Each wall had around four panels of photography, each panel had a title and an explanation of the kink that the images seemed to be depicting. These kinks included anal, lactation, bondage, genital piercings and transsexual porn stars. Again, whilst being rather amateur, the photography shown within these works was fairly interesting, most shots were clearly shot in the era of the eighties. Hair was big and makeup was bright, the leotards being worn were neon and the men involved had rather big moustaches. These shots, strangely enough, gave me inspiration for styling ideas. I am now planning an eighties prom style photo shoot for the summertime.
This visit to the sex museum has really inspired me, in regards to pose, styling and concept. I will be happy to include this experience as a source of inspiration in my future projects.
(Reference image underneath blog).
ELL, FASHION PHOTOGRAPHY 