101 Vagina
AuthorPhilip Werner
CountryAustralia
LanguageEnglish
SubjectFemale body image/sexuality
GenrePhotography
Published2013
Pages216
ISBN9780987409003

101 Vagina is a black-and-white coffee table photo-book by Philip Werner, with a foreword by Toni Childs. It was self-published in March 2013 in Melbourne, Australia. The book contains 101 close-up nude photos shot in a non-provocative way, along with an accompanying story or message written by each woman about her vagina.

The book's photos and stories were exhibited five times in Australia in 2013, with a US and Canadian tour in 2014 taking place in six locations.

Publication

101 Vagina was funded by crowdsourcing and took some two years to create.[1][2] Werner was initially inspired by The Vagina Monologues and subjects were found via social media after Werner publicised his objective to create a book that had both an educational and celebratory goal.[1][3] The models, ranging in age from 18 to 65, remain anonymous. Singer-songwriter Toni Childs, who wrote the foreword, made contact with Werner after he initiated a peace march in honour of murdered Australian Broadcasting Corporation employee Jill Meagher in his Brunswick, Victoria, neighbourhood.[4]

Speaking to The Sydney Morning Herald about the book, Werner commented that: "I hope it finds its way to a few young women and girls...So they see that [these pictures are] normal rather than pictures in magazines."[5] Stories accompanying the photos discuss various themes, including ageing, pregnancy, Brazilian waxing, first sexual encounter and poor body image.[6]

Reception

On publication 101 Vagina received broad media coverage, including write-ups in The Age,[1] The Sydney Morning Herald[5] and La Presse in Montreal.[7] It was also discussed on ABC Radio National[8] and 2SER.[9]

Exhibitions

101 Vagina was presented as an exhibition on several occasions in Australia in 2013. This included being part of The Sydney Fringe[10] and Melbourne Fringe Festival.[11] In 2014, it was officially launched in the US and Canada with a series of exhibitions. The tour included Los Angeles[12] and Laguna Beach.[2]

Controversy and censorship

In Sydney, the exhibition was visited by police responding to a complaint that the images were visible from the street.[13][14] Images were required to be censored as part of a group exhibition at The Sydney Fringe.[15]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 Carbone, Suzanne (14 March 2013). "Here's a lesson on vaginas 101". The Age. Retrieved 29 June 2014.
  2. 1 2 Hansen, David (24 April 2014). "Hansen: The Shame and Joy of 101 Vaginas". Laguna Beach Coastline Pilot. Archived from the original on 30 June 2015. Retrieved 29 June 2014.
  3. ↑ Price, Jenna (November 20, 2012). "Bodybits 101: the personal side of Selfies". Canberra Times. Fairfax Media.
  4. ↑ Robson, Suzanne (18 March 2013). "Private parts go public for a cause in coffee table book". Herald Sun. Retrieved 29 June 2014.
  5. 1 2 Berry, Sarah (20 March 2013). "Private parts go public". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 29 June 2014.
  6. ↑ Bielski, Zosia (June 12, 2014). "Controversial exhibit unveils natural beauty of 101 women". Globe and Mail.
  7. ↑ Bernier, Marie (31 May 2014). "Portraits Intimes" (in French). La Presse. Retrieved 29 June 2014.
  8. ↑ Smith, Amanda (14 April 2013). "What lies below". Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
  9. ↑ "A Vagina Festival in the Studio". www.2ser.com. Archived from the original on February 9, 2015.
  10. ↑ Rosenberg, Jess (20 September 2013). "101 Vaginas on Display". Broadsheet. Retrieved 29 June 2014.
  11. ↑ listing. "101 Vagina book – exhibition". melbournefringe.com. Archived from the original on 2013-09-17. Retrieved 29 June 2014.
  12. ↑ Gonzales, Nanette (8 April 2014). "101 Vagina Art Show @ Think Tank Gallery (NSFW)". LA Weekly. Archived from the original on 11 April 2014.
  13. ↑ Stubbs, Vanessa (28 June 2013). "Hide the vagina". MX - Sydney. News Ltd.
  14. ↑ Sano, Melanie (1 July 2013). "Police Monitor Vagina Exhibition". Visual Arts Hub. Archived from the original on 11 December 2013. Retrieved 29 June 2014.
  15. ↑ Hunt, Adam (September 19, 2013). "Vagina censorship offensive". City Hub. Altmedia. Archived from the original on June 26, 2018. Retrieved June 19, 2014.
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