Body Discovery Project- Ella

Posted on by shanifinchart

The body discovery project uses the artist style of Shani Finch incorporated with human models. The lines and shapes are designed to provide a positive platform for the models to discover the curves of their body.

“I’ve struggled with my body image ever since my primary school’s bully told me I was fat. I’ve worried and obsessed about my weight and appearance. I grew up and relied heavily on exercising to physically and mentally feel like I have worth. I haven’t been able to exercise for the last nine months after an accident left me temporarily disabled. I’ve been having a really hard time coping with the immobility, loss of muscle and gaining fat. Western society makes out like the worst thing a person can be is fat. Theres so much pressure from advertising and social media to look a certain way. Its hard enough to cope when you’re feeling your best. I’m in my mid 20’s now and I can’t help but wonder the things I could have achieved if I hadn’t spent so much time worrying about being unappealing to society. I don’t know where you find self love, but you don’t find it by trying to live up to other people’s expectations. I just want to say “Fuck it, this is me”, but I’m not sure who that is.”

Model: Ella

All photos are untouched, as beauty does not need editing.

Body Discovery Project- Stella

Posted on by shanifinchart

The body discovery project uses the artist style of Shani Finch incorporated with human models. The lines and shapes are designed to provide a positive platform for the models to discover the curves of their body.

“My name is Stella, I am 45kg and 4″11. I have been very harsh on my body, angry and upset about the way it looks. In school was when I was most unhappy, I would take out my anger on my skin, and starved myself because in my mind, being skinny and pretty was more important than my education. I have grown happier and more confident in my skin, but if I had the chance to change into a different body, I would do it in a heartbeat.

No matter how many people tell you you’re perfect, it doesn’t matter until you believe it yourself.”

Model: Stella

All photos are untouched, as beauty does not need editing.

Body Discovery Project- Lily

Posted on by shanifinchart

The body discovery project uses the artist style of Shani Finch incorporated with human models. The lines and shapes are designed to provide a positive platform for the models to discover the curves of their body.

“Learning to love the body is such a tiring process for me, I’m constantly let down by myself and my thoughts towards my body, and then other times I feel like the most beautiful vessel around. It’s hard finding the right balance in loving yourself, and only you can really know how it feels to be in the flesh and bone you’re in. Just respect it, respect the vessel you are in, respect others and theirs, respect is huge and I’m still learning to respect and love every scar and freckle on my body but I’m getting there slowly and I’m grateful to have such loving and supportive and liberating people in my life to make me feel beautiful and important and real, here. There is nothing more beautiful than self discovery and getting intimate with yourself, embrace that scary thought, and love it. No one said loving is easy, especially yourself. ”

Model: Lily

All photos are unedited, as beauty does not need editing.

Body Discovery Project- Holly

Posted on by shanifinchart

The body discovery project uses the artist style of Shani Finch incorporated with human models. The lines and shapes are designed to provide a positive platform for the models to discover the curves of their body.

Holly- “My relationship with my body had always been a little strained. I grew large breasts at a young age and they garnered a lot of unwanted and unwarranted attention that I was not equipped to handle while still so juvenile. I not only felt objectified, but I felt out of control. There was nothing I could do to slow the progression of the change occurring within and without me. I began to crumble under the weight of being thrust into this sexual sphere that I didn’t want to be a part of. I was studious and prided myself on my internal value. It was like a betrayal to be associated merely by this new physical attribute – it was as though my body had taken my credibility for intelligence and any other qualities I may have. I felt like vacuous, walking tits. And for a while I believed that I was.
In this phase of my life I started struggling with my association to womanliness. I started to dislike what I was. I had and have a flat little butt and narrow hips, which I was never so glad about, but what I considered to be my top heavy disproportion, revolted me. I’d looked into augmentation procedures for a long time because I felt that my nipples, especially, needed fixing – I needed fixing.
It’s taken me a long time to reclaim my appreciation and pride in who I am, and anatomically, what I am. I will never naturally have porn star boobies, I will always be short and I may never have a beyonce ass – and most days I just don’t mind. This little body has taken me everywhere I’ve ever needed or wanted to go!
There’s a little Roald Dahl quote that has always meant a lot to me that goes; ‘If you have good thoughts they will shine out of your face like sunbeams and you will always look lovely.’
I live by that shit.
I’m not going to pretend like I’m always comfortable in my skin, but I know that I can have a balance between appreciating my internal and external self now and that the way I feel about both intrinsically affects the other. I don’t have to hide away or behind either anymore because I know that I have worth.”

Model: Holly

All photos are unedited, as beauty does not need editing.

Body Discovery Project- Kurtis

Posted on by shanifinchart

The body discovery project uses the artist style of Shani Finch incorporated with human models. The lines and shapes are designed to provide a positive platform for the models to discover the curves of their body.

Kurtis- “I never took care of what I looked like growing up, accepting that I was a thin and lanky, curly-mop headed boy with mismatched funky clothes, pimples and braces. Everyone told me I was weird and I agreed. I was able to be exactly who I was without a care of what I looked like because I had accepted that it wasn’t going to look great. One day my puberty ended and a pretty face turned up. Getting along with people and being accepted was much easier. I’ve now learned that I am comfortable being exactly who I have been the whole time, still wearing mismatched funky clothes, because my personality shines out like sunshine.”

Model: Kurtis

All photos are unedited, as beauty does not need editing.

Body Discovery Project- Finula

Posted on by shanifinchart

The body discovery project uses the artist style of Shani Finch incorporated with human models. The lines and shapes are designed to provide a positive platform for the models to discover the curves of their body.

Finula-“I had sex for the first time when I was 11 years old. It was in the back yard of my best friends, Grandmothers house. He was 12 years old. We were talking about movies and my desire to be an actress when I grew up. Then he asked me to take my clothes off and dance for him, because that’s what they do in the movies. He soon afterwards took his clothes off and asked me to bend over, once again because this is what they do in the movies. After one extremely painful thrust I jumped away, squealing, put my clothes on and blocked that memory from my mind for the next 5 years. When that happened I had not one clue what sex even was, therefore I refused to believe that it had even happened to me, I didn’t uproot and face this memory until I was almost 17 years of age. Although not rape because both of us didn’t really know what we were doing this memory affected me for years to come. I didn’t have sex again until I was almost 19 years old. I also didn’t sexually engage with boys up until around then because I thought I would owe them sex. That belief has hung around my subconscious like a black cloud. Although I know it to be false and I know that I am a strong woman who has the voice to say no I still have that little oppressed voice inside me saying everything I do should be to please men. One of my biggest insecurities that I have dealt with since puberty is my pubic hair, my body has never reacted well with shaving so I just had to leave it, this was extremely hard when I was in high school as all the other girls my age were completely disgusted when they saw that I had pubic hair. I cannot even count the amount of times another girl told me that a man would never want to have sex with me if I had hair down there. I was lucky enough to grow up with two extremely open minded and feminist parents that encouraged me to be unapologetically myself. But even with that we all grow up constantly surrounded by the idea that we need to hate ourselves and our image, that there is always something that needs changing. I am still and always will be learning to love my squishy tummy, the little flap of fat under my arms, my pubic hair, my weird hobbit feet and owning the fact that I love being a slut and there is nothing anyone can say to make me feel guilty about it. Sometimes I have days where I feel like a beautiful goddess and sometimes I have days where I don’t even want to be seen in public. I am striving for a time where I don’t have the bad days at all.”

Model: Finula

All photos are unedited, as beauty does not need editing.

Body Discovery Project- Kayla

Posted on by shanifinchart

The body discovery project uses the artist style of Shani Finch incorporated with human models. The lines and shapes are designed to provide a positive platform for the models to discover the curves of their body.

Kayla- “Most of my insecurities come from carrying a lot of shame about my body. I was taught early on my body was a sex object-my parents always told me to cover myself up, while men told me to take it off. I never felt much ownership of my own body or sexuality and when I was raped at 16 the shame nearly swallowed me whole.I used to hate my body and blame it and myself for what happened. My body has changed over the years as I have healed. I have gained weight, lost weight, had a breast reduction, gained weight again. There are days where I feel like my hips are too wide or my scars are ugly, but I’m learning to value my body each and every day.”

Model: Kayla

All photos are unedited, as beauty does not need editing.

Body Discovery Project- Jacinta + Bree

Posted on by shanifinchart

The body discovery project uses the artist style of Shani Finch incorporated with human models. The lines and shapes are designed to provide a positive platform for the models to discover the curves of their body.

Jacinta- “I would have to say currently, my biggest insecurity now would be my stretch marks/my eyes. I still look at remedies to this day when I’m having confidence issues or if I’m with a group of people and feel as if they’re on display. I used to get teased about how small the shape of my eyes were and that plays a big part now when being photographed to as I usually look down or close my eyes to avoid judgment. Although I still don’t “love” my current insecurities, I find it helps to embrace the parts of my body I do love to weigh out the negative thoughts and not to compare myself to other people and focus on myself. The biggest insecurity I’ve overcome with my body was definitely my boobs as the grew so quickly in high school (probably from lots of weight gain/puberty) and I always had people of all ages constantly staring  or commenting on them whenever I wore tight tops that showed a bit of cleavage, so I just wore millions of oversized tees till about last year/start of this year. Probably one of my biggest mistakes as now it’s my most favourite thing i love about my body.”

Models: Jacinta + Bree

All photos are unedited, as beauty does not need editing.