“This is a project about age, the social construction of age. I think it’s a harmful construction – unlike this project. It messes with how we think about ourselves and about other people. This project, on the other hand, is all about us as amazing humans. Ages invites people to reveal their bodies and revel in ourselves and our skin, bones, lumps and bumps. And as we are not just naked creatures, it includes photographs of people dressed. It also includes small offerings from the participants as tokens and symbols to represent something, or nothing, about how they are at this point in their life. Age is rejected as anything but a way to measure the number of years we have been alive. Any other references to it are mistakes or jokes. There is much more about the project in a wordy section at Words.
As the project has grown, it’s become clear that it’s been a real boost to the participants. And, it’s also a way to increase the variety of body types that are seen – we are not all a typical type, very few of us are.
Ages is actively, determinedly LGBTQ+ and disability friendly. Sadly, at the moment, it is lacking black and brown skinned participants”
…
Enter Jade.
I was contacted by Phil through my trusty website which seems to bring a lot of people who simply google “Model/photographer/virtual assistant/great all around gal in Brighton”.
We had spoken and he had debriefed me on the project as a whole over email, with such a sensitive project, we thought it wise to meet and have a chat face to face before really committing, we had to see if artist and muse could collaborate on an energy level. After a coffee and a croissant in The Waterstones coffee shop we decided to pencil a date in the diary, and depending on the (British) weather, we would either shoot on the day set or push it, we pushed the days around and finally set on Wednesday 14th May. Phil came and collected me and off we went to Stanmer Park.
Phil had already scouted out the locations so we knew where we were gonna shoot and Phil had a clear idea of poses and what parts of the scenery I could use to create poses with and on.
It was liberating posing outside, afterwards I was asked to write about my experience and how I viewed (my) age. You can read it on my own profile on Phil’s website here.
I have also been given the images which I will be posting on my Patreon as art reference photos for you to draw and create from!
Jade Hylton 