Over a period of five years, travelling to seventeen countries, across five continents, photographer Zed Nelson has produced his latest work entitled LOve Me.
In the series Nelson explores the world we have created in which the way you look can have enormous social and psychological rewards and downfalls. A world in which our constant strive for perfection is so great that plastic surgery and the odd 'nip and tuck' is fast becoming the norm.
The series presents images of Beauty Queens to Business Men, Hou
se Wifes to Plastic Surgeons, all sharing one common beli
ef that in changing your appearance on the outside others around you will accept and admire you as 'beautiful'.
One image that stood out for me was that of Anthony Mascola, age 46. Nelson shot him as he was just hours away from undergoing liposuction surgery to his abdomen and chin. The image is accompanied by a quote which reads:
"I'm competing with me 20 years younger than me"
What is it that makes this man feel inadequate to those younger than he? Is it a natural part of growing old to feel as if you want to turn the clock back? Is it just that now you can. Perhaps the fact that cosmetic surgery has become so accepted is part of it's attraction, it's almost seen as a quick fix, a way of solving all your problems, a way of gaining that confidence you so desire.
Another quote with the work is that of philosopher Alain de Botton:
Every society has notions of what one should believe and how one should behave in order to avoid suspicion and unpopularity. Some of theses societal conventions are given explicit formulation an a legal code, others are more intuitively held in a vast body of ethical and practical judgements described as 'common sense' which dictates what we should wear, which financial values we should adopt, whom we should esteem, which etiquette we should follow and what domestic life we should lead.
We refrain from questioning the status quo because we associate what is popular with what is right.
To me Nelsons work is hugely important, it brings our attention to the lengths in which people will go to to achieve their notion of what is right and what is beautiful.
It also makes us consider our own insecurities and vanity. Where has this strive for perfection and acceptance come from?What is it that we're aspiring to? What is beauty?
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