‘I heard the most phenomenal stories’: why 500 women over 50 posed nude for a photograph

The experience of posing nude for the project left some women in tears – but no one ever changed their mind about being photographed

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If she was about to ask hundreds of women to pose naked for her, Ponch Hawkes figured it was only fair she do it too.

In 2018, the Australian photographer was approached by curator Jane Scott with the idea of photographing 500 naked women over the age of 50 for an exhibition that would challenge stereotypes about ageing, titled Flesh After Fifty. So Hawkes convinced Scott to strip off with her and the two posed for a full-body portrait in Hawkes’ studio.

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‘I heard the most phenomenal stories’: why 500 women over 50 posed nude for a photograph

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