YOUR BODY BELONGS

MAY WE RISE IS An IMMERSIVE installation project by photographer Jenfairchild, with a focus ON ELEVATING the nude form & supporting our embodiment journey — IN COMMUNITY — through art

“OUR BODY IS OUR FIRST AND MOST PRECIOUS HOME—

and yet the opportunity to encounter empowering images of natural bodies in natural positions is difficult — if impossible — to come by, which begs the question — what is the message being sent if one’s only experience with the nude form is through pornography, censored imagery, or aboriginal people to which one may not be able to relate to on a real life practical or social level? Self-image is largely shaped by what we see reflected back to us in our everyday life, and my goal is to offer a different perspective than what is readily available in the media.

The light of divinity resides within all of us, and I believe that with the right intention, being seen as a work of art in the context of a nude portrait session has the power to both reflect and connect us to that truth. Through the format of gathering together & collectively celebrating our essential form, I hope to create more opportunities for all of us to experience ourselves and others as beings of light, and to ground us in the reality that all bodies are sacred, all bodies belong, and all bodies deserve to be valued — simply because they exist.”

Photographer and Artist Jenifer Fairchild

The first installation of the project, entitled WE ARE SHE themovement, took place in Salt Lake City, UT with the photoshoots in January-February of 2020 and the reveal event on March 6th — just one week before the pandemic.

Though it was centrally focused on women, the next installations will include all bodies as a way to further integrate our understanding, acceptance, and respect of one another, and what it means to be a human being.

FEEDBACK FROM 2020 PARTICIPANTS

  • “THIS EXPERIENCE HAS LIFTED A WEIGHT OFF OF MY LIFE THAT I HADN'T REALIZED WAS THERE. I FEEL LIKE I MOVE A BIT MORE FREELY, WORRY A BIT LESS AND DEFINITELY HAVE A BIT MORE PEP IN MY STEP. IT'S MORE THAN A 20 MINUTE EXPERIENCE, IT'S A SHIFT.”

    -LB

  • “BEING WITNESSED IN SUCH A WAY WAS LIBERATING, AND I FELT BEAUTIFUL IN AN EMBODIED KIND OF WAY.”

    -CP

  • "IN THE DAYS LEADING UP TO MY APPOINTMENT, I FELT WAVES OF EMOTIONS RANGING FROM INSECURITY TO SELF-DOUBT TO NARCISSIM. I ALMOST BAILED MULTIPLE TIMES. BUT I FORCED MYSELF TO CONFRONT THIS OPPORTUNITY HEAD ON AND DO IT JUST FOR THE SAKE OF DOING MORE THINGS THAT SCARED ME. [...] I ENCOUNTERED A MOMENT OF COURAGE AND STRENGTH I DIDN'T KNOW I HAD WITHIN ME. THE PHOTOSHOOT ONLY LASTED MAYBE 15 MINUTES [BUT IT UNLOCKED] SOMETHING WITHIN ME THAT I WILL CARRY WITH ME FOREVER."

    -CS

  • “AFTER THE SHOOT I FELT EMOTIONAL IN A GREAT WAY. IT WAS SO POWERFUL TO FEEL SO CONNECTED TO THE OTHER PARTICIPANTS WHO I HAVE NOT EVEN MET YET AND TO FEEL SO POSITIVE ABOUT MY BODY CAPTURED IN SUCH A RAW AND NATURAL WAY”

    -TF

  • "My untapped inner beauty finally showed up and was honored [...]. I felt very comfortable and beautiful without judgement."

    -LP

  • “I'VE NEVER POSED NUDE BEFORE AND IT WAS HONESTLY MAGICAL AND EMPOWERING.”

    -KF

  • "I FELT AFRAID, SCARED A LITTLE UNCERTAIN AND IN ALL HONESTY A BIT VULNERABLE ABOUT WHAT I WOULD BE WILLING TO SHOW AND IF WHAT I DID SHOW WOULD BE VIEWED AS ACCEPTABLE. BUT [...] BEFORE I KNEW IT I WAS SHOWING ME, MY COMPLETE SELF. THIS WHOLE EXPERIENCE TAUGHT ME TO BE ME AND LOVE WHO I AM, ITS AS IF A WEIGHT WAS LIFTED OFF MY SHOULDERS. I AM GOOD ENOUGH AND MY BODY IS BEAUTIFUL ENOUGH JUST THE WAY IT IS, WITH ALL OF ITS WRINKLES, BLEMISHES, CELLULITE, FAT...ALL OF IT."

    -MR

  • "I'VE ALWAYS EXUDED A SEX FIRE ENERGY, BUT THIS SHOOT ACTUALLY CONNECTED ME WITH A PART OF MY WOMANLY BEING OF PURITY, OF WHOLENESS, OF ONENESS OF JUST BEING COMPLETELY ME."

    -AB

  • "IT'S AN AWAKENING"

    -AC

  • "My experience was wholesome, freeing, vulnerable, scary, exciting, empowering, and powerful... the whole thing was so positive and healing for me. I never once felt scrutinized or judged. The project felt like a space where I could be in my naked body and not feel anything towards it. I felt totally neutral and normal and comfortable. [...] It was truly magical.."

    -AA

  • "I thought I was going to be much more insecure while being mostly naked and I really wasn't. Maybe it's because I felt like I was being viewed through the eyes of an artist and not someone who would judge me."

    -JF

  • "Participating in the project was for me, an act of such vulnerability that up until that very day, I wasn't entirely sure if I could do it. Once I arrived and my nerves started to settle, [...] I immediately felt more comfortable in my own skin than I can ever remember feeling before. [...] my body belongs, [...] my body is both strong and beautiful."

    -TM

  • "This was a phenomenal experience that forced me to be honest with myself and my body; to remember that society and media do not set a value on my body."

    -KG

  • "As nervous as I was, I still showed up the day of my photo shoot. I was shaking and nauseous and brought 5 different things to wear knowing that I wouldn't let myself go fully nude. No way. Then [...] two minutes into meeting a complete stranger, I was naked and sitting on the floor bearing it all for the camera! But I wouldn't change a thing about how it all went down. I don't think words can fully describe how wonderful that day was for me. I remember telling my sisters after the fact that I wasn't sure how the most uncomfortable situation I've put myself in was also one of the most amazing experiences I've ever had. [I never felt] judged or uncomfortable in my own skin and that is something I've *never* felt before, especially under the circumstances."

    -KH

  • "After an extremely awful day that included more crying than anything else, I left the photo shoot standing taller. Afterwards, leterally sat down in my car and had to straighten up because I felt so much better than the previous 10 hrs. [...]"

    -RG

  • "IT HAS BEEN EMOTIONALLY BEAUTIFUL. I HAVE CONNECTED WITH MYSELF IN A WAY THAT I DIDN'T THINK I COULD. I FEEL SO EMPOWERED, STRONG, AND CONFIDENT. THIS PROJECT IS TRULY WHAT I NEEDED TO SEE *ME*. I WAS SO INCREDIBLY SCARED AND NERVOUS AT FIRST AND THEN [...], I FELT SO BEAUTIFUL, I HAD TO HOLD MY TEARS BACK. WHAT A GIFT IT WAS TO [...] HAVE [...] SUCH INTIMATE PICTURES OF WHAT IT FELT LIKE YOUR SOUL."

    -ML

  • "[...] I LOVED THAT THERE WERE LITTLE TO NO PROPS AND JUST FULL GLORIOUS WOMAN AS SHE IS... WRINKLES AND ROLLS AND MUSCLE AND CURVES AND SKIN... AND *ALL* OF IT BEAUTIFUL. I FEEL ANXIOUS ABOUT NOT SEEING THE PICS FIRST BUT ALSO RELISH IN THE SURRENDER OF THAT. HOW BEAUTIFUL TO TRUST THAT IT IS ALL BEAUTIFUL AS IT IS!"

    -SH

  • "[...] AS MY DATE GOT CLOSER I STARTED GETTING MORE EXCITED, BUT ALSO SOMEWHAT SURPRISINGLY TO ME, MORE ANXIOUS. AFTER ENTERING THE STUDIO, IT WAS CLEAR HOW MUCH THOUGHT HAD BEEN PUT INTO THIS PROJECT. IT WAS *SO* MUCH MORE THAN TAKING PHOTOS OF NAKED WOMEN. I REALLY FELT EMPOWERED AND LIKE THIS MEANT SOMETHING. [...]"

    -KM

  • "ESSENTIALLY, THIS EXPERIENCE BROUGHT TO LIFE A WOMAN THAT'S NO LONGER WEIGHED DOWN BY THE WAT IF'S AND SHOULD NOTS OF HER SOCIETY AND INSTEAD LEAD BY HER OWN WOMANLY DESIRES AND SELF-DETERMINED SENSUALITY."

    -LB

  • "[...] I HAVE NO IDEA HOW THE PHOTOS LOOK, BUT I STOPPED CARING AND STARTED FOCUSING ON HOW WONDERFUL I FELT TO DO IT REGARDLESS OF THE RESULTS. THAT'S A RAD NIRVANA TO REACH."

    -TA

  • "[...] THIS HELPED ME FACE MY FEARS AND THINK DIFFERENTLY ABOUT MY PERCEPTIONS OF MY BODY AND SOCIETY'S PERCEPTIONS OF WOMEN'S BODIES IN GENERAL. I'M SO GLAD I PARTICIPATED EVEN THOUGH IT WAS A CHALLENGE FOR ME."

    -RG

elevate

yourself

- AND THE REST OF HUMANKIND — TO A WORK OF ART

BECOME THE NEXT ‘BODY’ OF WORK