No Filter

‘No Filter’ captures women in their 70s and older, at home, and wearing no more than their everyday underwear. In the age of social media curated selfies, I aim to explore the reality of our ageing bodies, and the differing mindset that goes with it.

No Filter’ is an act of courage and rebellion, of every day ageing women, not afraid to show their bodies, nearly naked. Clothes are a form of makeup. They hide our imperfections. I am trying to normalise women’s ageing bodies. The participants are all shot at home in their everyday underwear. There is no make up or props. I often use a flash so photos are quite raw. I aim to show diversity in their bodies, and in the participant’s stories. I interview each subject about their bodies. Each photo has a paragraph about how the subject see’s and feels about their bodies.

Pam 80 - Pam feels there is too much of her body. She says, most of her life, her body hasn’t been kind to her, but she is appreciative of her brain which has served her well. A retired lawyer, she had a long career including a 25 year stint in Central Australia doing legal work for First Nation communities At 77 a degenerative ankle condition forced her to sell her beloved boat, Little Dragon. Now, age 80, she hopes that ankle surgery will ‘soon have her sprightly again and ready for new nautical adventures’.

Julie 81 - Up until a couple of months ago Julie was zipping around on her electric bike, but due to an unknown pain in her leg she is unable to ride her bike. She is looking forward to jumping back on her bike and being mobile again. ‘Wow who is that old woman?’ was her reply when she saw her portrait.

Pam 80 - Pam feels there is too much of her body. She says, most of her life, her body hasn’t been kind to her, but she is appreciative of her brain which has served her well. A retired lawyer, she had a long career including a 25 year stint in Central Australia doing legal work for First Nation communities At 77 a degenerative ankle condition forced her to sell her beloved boat, Little Dragon. Now, age 80, she hopes that ankle surgery will ‘soon have her sprightly again and ready for new nautical adventures’.

Robyn 75 - ‘I have really flogged my body, actually I’ve thrashed it.’ Robyn played eight years of competitive squash, then she hit the running boom completing the Honolulu Marathon and many triathlons. As a result she had one knee reconstruction and a knee replacement. Robyn then walked the Camino trail three times (total of 2,475 kms). Robyn got her bike license at 72. She actively stays strong to ride the bike - it’s heavy and she needs strength to balance it and keep it upright. Robyn does strength exercise classes, yoga and ocean swims. ‘One thing that amuses me about my body after all those years of physical activity is my body is rolling and folding exactly as my mother’s did. I have a crease in exactly the same place (she points to her stomach) I look in the mirror and I say, why hello Nola!’ Regarding the future, Robyn feels the window is ‘starting to close’ and to maintain riding the motorbike ‘I’m going to have to work really hard’. Robyn is currently pain free.

Laurel 92 - Laurel has always been shy. In the early days, when she went out with her husband Keith, if she was seated and her dress rose above her knees ‘I would ask Keith for his handkerchief and cover my knees, it was the proper thing to do.’ When she came home from open heart surgery, Keith would have to turn the other way when he bathed Laurel. Keith never saw Laurel naked their entire married life. ‘Keith was one in a billion’ says Laurel and ‘he loved me unconditionally.’ According to Laurel she is very patient, but when she is angry everyone knows it. ‘I am a Leo, the Lioness,’ she says. I ask Laurel how many children she has. ‘It’s a miracle (she laughs) I have three.’ Laurel’s grandfather, a black man was born in Antigua, he came out to Australia when he was 18 and settled in Woolloomooloo and ‘and that is where he stayed working as a wharfie and starting a workers union with three others.’ Laurel says she can’t believe ‘she is still here at 91.’ She has had more than her fair share of bad health (she puts this down to cleaning houses ‘for the rich and famous’) and countless medical procedures over the last 20 years. She has defied death many times and believes the reason being is she’s here to keep ‘my family together.’ Some of her grandchildren live in Victoria and fondly nicknamed her ‘the wicked witch from the North.’ Whenever she was due to visit them, they would say to each other ‘don’t forget when Nan comes elbows off the table, your mouth closed when you eat, and say please and thank you.’ Her grandchildren are all grown up now but they still love to come and stay with her. Laurel’s one piece of advice for her family is ‘make sure when you look yourself in the mirror you like yourself, you have to like yourself first before anyone else will like you.’ Laurel raised her 3 children in Woolloomooloo. She has 7 grandchildren, and 3 great grandchildren.

Marie 73 - ‘There are some really good things about getting old, one of of them is I’ve got bigger breasts than I’ve ever had, I finally got a cleavage at 70.’ Marie has always been sporty doing long distance bike riding. She has osteoarthritis in her hip. She has already had one hip replaced and is having the other one done in November. ‘I will be a bionic woman,’ she laughs. She used to cycle up to 100kms in a day, now she rides 30kms in a day with her osteoarthritis. She hopes to be riding 50kms in a day when the other hip is done. ’You are more accepting about the way you look when you are older, and you realise nothing is really about the way you look, it’s much more about how you feel inside.’ She loved being a midwife. It was a career that really made her ‘appreciate women’s bodies and how they work, how fantastic they are and how strong their bodies are.’ She reckons her best asset is her smile ‘because it gets me out of a lot of trouble (she laughs) I never use to think that as I have very prominent teeth, I used to spend a lot of time hiding my smile behind my hand, now I don’t care, and I realise people like my smile.’ Marie says ‘it’s good to realise just because you’re old it doesn’t mean you are a has been’.

Shirley 90 - Shirley is one of twelve kids. She has worked tirelessly all her life cleaning schools and residential homes. She taught herself to read in her forties. A ‘no frills woman’ who at the time couldn’t read or write, she travelled on her own visiting her daughter in India, the US and Germany. She is a free spirit and has dedicated her life to her children. She is more than happy with the body she was given. 'It has served me well.'

Julie 81 - up until a couple of months ago Julie was zipping around on her electric bike, but due to an unknown pain in her leg she is unable to ride her bike. She is looking forward to jumping back on her bike and being mobile again. ‘Wow who is that old woman?’ was her reply when she saw her portrait.

Lynda 75 - Lynda is grateful for her body, ‘it has allowed me to do many things.’ She has a long scar on her stomach caused from a strangulated bowel when she was a baby. She hated the scar for many years and didn’t like her body because of it. When she gave birth to her first child it dawned on her what a miracle her body was. From that moment on she grew to love her body. A few years back she had her portrait painted in the nude by a well know Australian artist. Lynda will be 74 next month. She has glaucoma and her driving is limited imposing some restrictions on her day-to-day life. Nevertheless, she is a busy woman and shows little sign of slowing down.