Chloe Rosser on the Human Body

Seeing something as common as the human body in a new light, from a different angle, is no mean feat. We talked to the artist Chloe Rosser on her stunning, yet sometimes brutal, photography – and how she depicts the human form.

Ambi: How would you describe your work to someone who might be encountering it for the first time?

Chloe: My work deals with the human body and our relationship with it, which is a complicated and fraught relationship. I hide the head, hands and hair of my figures so that you cannot make the judgements and assumptions about that person that you usually would. Instead, you view it as a sculpture and start to read things from it that you normally overlook. The figures are very surreal, and in many ways, inhuman. But there is evidence of humanity throughout the series. A red mark can be see from a recent scratch, or an imprint left from underwear. These bodies are varied and inclusive, and they are all presented equally.

My first project, Form, deals with the single figure and its experience in that space. Function, explores this further and focuses on relationships between the figures. In images with two or more figures, they are posed so that they lean and balance together, supporting each other. They would not be able to hold the poses they do without the other and often they must reach a point of equilibrium to sustain that position.

I photograph them in homely spaces. Sometimes they are the homes of the models themselves. I find these spaces very interesting as they are environments that we create ourselves, decorating and arranging them, but then in turn they have an effect on us and our mental state.

The process of photography allows me to record the body exactly as it appeared in these positions, and essentially sculpt with living human flesh.

What is it about the human form that interests you? And how do you think your art can change others’ perception if it?

It's so interesting to me because we have this complicated relationship with it, and because it's form is so varied and versatile. We all have such a personal and unique relationship to the human figure because we all have our own experience of owning one.

When seeing the human body paired back like this, you don't react to it like you would a portrait. You can't help but make assumptions about a portrait, even if it is subconiously. When all the identifying features have been removed and the body is presented in this desexualised way, you start to see it in a new light. You study its contours and tones, the curvature of the muscles and the unexpected protrusion of bones. You view it as a sculpture.

In what way is your work a comment on gender or race?

Inclusion is very important to me, so I work with people of different skin tones and a variety of genders - people who identify as female, male, gender fluid and transgender. I have also photographed people who range in body shape, sexuality and age (20 - 70). All the figures are presented on equal terms. I do not tell the viewer who is who in the images, because the point I am trying to get across is that we are all made of the same flesh and bone. We are equals.

On your website you write there there’s an “increasing alienation of our bodies?” What do you mean by that?

We have a very complicated relationship with the human body. We are constantly surrounded by imagery of digitally enhanced bodies, which sets impossible standards of body image as the norm. There is a disconnect between us and the human body in its natural state. We have such varied and unique figures that we should appreciate with all their 'imperfections'. I'm trying to shake up the way we look at the human body and allow us a fresh take on it.

Your work is very beautiful, but can feel somewhat brutal at the same time – is this a conscious dichotomy?

Absolutely. The stark, strange way that the bodies are arranged allows us a new perspective, but the beauty of the images makes them digestible. It also makes the point that these bodies really are beautiful, with all their differences.

Your work also play into the body positivity movement, by not editing the photographs to beautify them. Can you tell a bit about why this is important to you?

I never remove any of the marks or scars on the skin of my figures, because to me they are proof that the body has been lived in. They are a beautiful record of your life. We have a culture of being extremely critical about our bodies which I don't agree with. I want people to look at Form & Function and appreciate all these varied and experienced figures. I think that when you're given an opportunity to look at the body as a sculpture, you can start to form a new relationship with it.

Some of the people who have posed for me had never done anything like this before, and they were not very comfortable in their own skin. They later told me that they found the experience very liberating and it actually allowed them to begin accepting their body. That means so much to me, as body positivity is key to the project.

What do you think find to be the most beautiful about the human body?

For me, it’s when the connection between our minds and our bodies displays itself. For example, when stress can manifest itself as a physical reaction. Or something as simple as when a physical experience, such as a massage, can end up soothing not only the body but the mind too. They are so linked.

Finally, what else is in the works for you?

The work also touches on the experience of your body changing. If your body stops working in the way you are used to, it can be incredibly alienating. I experienced this myself when I suffered from extreme sciatica some years ago. I wasn't able to work, or even sit, for a number of months as I was in so much pain. It felt like my body was rejecting me when I wasn't able to do even simple daily tasks. This is something we all experience on some level at a point in our lives; whether it's from a sudden accident or just becoming less flexible or mobile with age.

*This interview is from 2019, but was delayed due to the magazine not launching as planned.