Barbierian, 2019

Barbierian, pronounced just like barbarian, is a collection of photographs targeting the outrage surrounding women’s body hair and beauty standards. Aesthetically, the series is presented in a way that I hope gets the overall point across, but diving further, I approached the concept with the intention of creating a vehicle to recondition society at the early childhood level. I was able to achieve this theory through the use of a very old, very familiar toy: the barbie doll.

This concept is inspired by multiple things. First, I think I should clarify that this is not a pro body hair series, but it’s also not NOT a pro body hair series. It’s simply about choice; to be who you want to be, do what you want to do, and look how you want to look. It’s about making a choice that is comfortable for YOU.

The catalyst for the series stems from the body hair debate and also the negative comments I’ve seen on just about every woman’s Instagram who has armpit, leg, forearm, and/or visible pubic hair. It’s a huge issue that a lot of women are dealing with everyday. There’s a large amount of pressure on women in regards to beauty, health, sex, and identity. As a guy, I don’t have to deal with these things but that doesn’t mean I should remain silent on the subject. Still, activism and voting are very important in regards to women’s rights and equality, but I also chose to create this series to speak up and offer support artistically.