Challenging Gender Stereotypes - Part 2

When I posted a model call for a shoot inspired by Ezra Miller's Playboy photoshoot from 2018, I didn't have much expectation. 
When meeting with the potential models it was important for me that we connect. We would spend hours drinking coffee and chatting about the why and the how. I made clear that those photoshoots are in no way a recreation of Ezra's shoot and my models were the co-creators of their photo session.
What come out of it are amazing images that are as unique as the personalities of my models.
I would love to share with you Mateo's photos and his reflection on gender stereotypes.

"I have always strongly believed that we all possess a masculine and feminine side. For me, recognition of this is the healthiest stance to take in the expression of self. Beyond being truly stifling, conforming too strongly to the representative qualities on the side of your assigned gender, it blatantly disregards the natural fullness of being human. We all possess traits typically attributable to men, such as strength and physical resilience, and yet are equally equipped with emotions and sensitive vulnerabilities. We owe it the truest versions of ourselves to live life exploring, being curious of, and interrogating this continuum.

Some of the people I am most inspired by comfortably relish in this balance within their everyday selves. Men and women, who navigate and embody a non-conformist existence with regards to strict gender expression. And they do so not even as a daring rebellion against societies standards, but simply as a reflection of a natural fact.

When the opportunity presented itself to model in this photography session with Marina it was a no brainer for me. As well as being drawn to the beauty of Ezra Millar’s shoot, I was also a big fan of his. I have always found his aesthetic hugely intriguing and celebrated his glorious abandonment in self-expression.

I was never uncomfortable with the concept of the shoot or what is expected of me. I have no qualms with nudity, particularly in the realms of artistic expression. Upon meeting with Marina, I was put even more at ease. I really enjoyed her calming essence. We got talking about nature and things that are at the core of who I was as a person. We decided that a nature-based setting made the most sense for me, and one that she was equally personally drawn to.

The day itself was a truly enjoyable experience. It was so rewarding to be a vessel for someone else’s creative vision, and relinquish my own ego for the sake of collaborative art. Being a creative person myself, I possess an inherent fascination with the journey this medium can take you on and am more than willing to explore the many facets to myself. It is natural for me to want to go out of my way to support the creative visions of others, and it bought me such joy to see Marina elated with the results she was capturing.

It felt truly meditative to be in the forest naked. To feel the foliage and the wind playfully and gently caressing my bare flesh, and to in turn embrace the rough, coarse force of tree trunks lovingly. In a pure sense of flow, I disengaged from perceived boundaries and became one with a divine force. One that is greater than all of us, and guiding us always - if only we are quiet and still enough to listen. Nature is everywhere, around and inside of us all." - Mateo