The Female Body
Amber Baker, a photographer from London, currently living in Milan, presents her new research on the female body and a shoot with Carine Morris. Amber explains that her deepest desire is to present women through a female gaze. As she explains, it’s “something that is impossible for a male photographer to achieve.” We take this journey with Amber to understand how the female gaze is different and what is the drive behind it. The assumptions and bias are left aside to free path to a representation of a woman, which is dichotomous and can be soft along with being powerful, and can illustrate both classic male and female characteristics.
The topic which preceded the female body had to do with the beauty of the body in movement, caught in action, in the transformation from one emotional state to another. Dance and entwining of bodies came as a perfect ground for the observance following a goal to catch a deeper layer, “I feel that with movement comes a frame of time where the subject is in their own mind, without focusing on the pose.” We speak with Amber about her new research, her photoshoot with Carine, and the upcoming project, which will combine her acrylic paintings and photography, to be exhibited later on this year.
‘It's rather a complex alien, a mix of my personalities squashed into single imagery: classic, feminine, ambient, modern, and a little dark and unusual.’
Where are you currently based? How would you compare it with the place you grew up in?
I am currently based in Milan. I grew up in a small town on the south coast of England, Eastbourne is the name. The town is quite strange for anybody coming from a city or large town, filled with the elderly, young families or anybody looking for a more simple and relaxed life. I, myself, yearned for the bustle and excitement of living elsewhere. Milan, for me, is a cross between a small town and a large city. It still has a sense of community, unlike other large cities.
How would you describe your genre of photography in 1-2 sentences?
It's rather a complex alien, a mix of my personalities squashed into single imagery: classic, feminine, ambient, modern, and a little dark and unusual.
‘It is important for me that the vulnerability is visible, the human inside of the person, a purity behind the eyes.’
Movement is one of the main elements recurring throughout your works. The bodies are presented in a moment in time caught in action. An additional layer is an emotion that is present in all the images. What is the precise feeling you are looking for in people you photograph? How does the movement emphasize this feeling?
When I am photographing a person, or even sometimes with an inanimate object, I use a similar connection; it is important for me that the vulnerability is visible, the human inside of the person, a purity behind the eyes. I feel that with movement comes a frame of time where the subject is in their own mind, without focusing on the pose.
The printed image retains certain magic about it. It has a strong presence once in a gallery or on the wall at home. What are the main aspects, in your opinion, to choose the right image for a printed version?
To choose a print, there is an importance of drawing energy from a room or a person. What energy do you want to extract from your viewer, and how do you want them to connect with the image - it’s a bit like falling in love. When you see that person across a room or in the street, you lock eyes and energy is born.
‘I fell in love with the beauty of female photographers shooting female bodies. It’s just a whole other thing. Something that is impossible for a male photographer to achieve.’
How would you describe your photographic path towards starting research on the female body? What led you to explore this topic?
I’ve studied fashion and photography since I was a young girl, in awe at the beauty printed in Vogue and other commercial magazines. When growing up, I found myself inside an industry I admired so much. Seeing behind the scenes changed my perception of beauty a lot. Now for me, beauty is also a feeling, not just an aesthetic.
I studied further about this topic and grew to understand that beauty is an opinion. The beauty I saw as a child is historically based around the male gaze, male photographers, etc. I fell in love with the beauty of female photographers shooting female bodies. It’s just a whole other thing. Something that is impossible for a male photographer to achieve. I want the women I shoot to be able to feel comfortable, to be vulnerable and exposed without feeling threatened or intimidated.
‘I think that the most important thing which pushes me a lot to continue this journey is that, as artists, we have a responsibility. We have the ability to change perceptions, and we should use that to better the world, to detoxify it.’
What is your main passion for photography, or what drives you to continue working?
I think, like most photographers, it's the ability to capture a moment and keep it, some would say a part of a soul or a piece of time that is trapped forever in a single frame. Although this is true, the main reason for me is that as a painter originally, I found that taking photos was a way I could paint instantly, and I like the adrenaline that comes along with that.
Honestly, I think that the most important thing which pushes me a lot to continue this journey is that, as artists, we have a responsibility. We have the ability to change perceptions, and we should use that to better the world, to detoxify it. So at least if I never make it past living in a studio apartment, I can feel fulfilled knowing I added something beneficial to this world.
You mentioned your new project of paintings to accompany the research of the female body. What is the process of working on this project?
This project is something I have been tinkering with for years. Painting and drawing is something I used for therapy, for release, expression, and fun. It shows some of my deepest and most vulnerable parts. Deciding to put a painting project into action felt simpler and easier for me when focusing on the female source.
Funnily enough, it was almost a coincidence that the portraits and the painting project would work together. I realised upon shooting that each woman is sharing with me a feeling, a story, what kind of women they are. Almost a sort of research of femininity, which gave me access to express all of us as women, in my painting works.
