Apocalypse

by Clotilde Nogues

“By looking back at those pictures, it kind of jumped out at me. What if this was ‘The World Afterwards’, the one we’ve been imagining, fantasizing, and overthinking about during lockdown. What if we were left to ourselves after all this, not being able to live civilized as we used to, packed in cities. Would it look like that?

Devoid of human contact and sociability, we could let go little by little. Struggling from this new life, discovering new environments, and finally, rest. Return to our wilderness.”

Clotilde is a 23 year-old French girl who likes to captivate the human in his moments of freedom : (half) naked in nature. Some might struggle while others might enjoy it or just be curious about how it feels. Let’s discover it together.

Q&A WITH CONTRIBUTOR BY DIMITAR DIMITROV

Why do you like to capture the human form in a stripped and bare way?

To my opinion and beliefs, nudity is a representation of freedom. It shows the man in its purest authenticity, released from artifacts and associations. I think nudity shows a certain lightness and strength at the same time. Lightness for its natural and simple side, strength for its raw and audacious side to show what is. With this said, I capture the human in a stripped and bare way because that’s where I get inspiration.

There's a rawness and a graciousness in the photos with female subjects. How do you think your work illustrates the female experience in our world? What do your photographs say about being a woman perhaps?

I actually didn’t think about the female experience while taking the picture. I did think about it when thinking about publishing it. The person in the picture actually doesn't like one of them because she’d like her body to be different, to be more « perfect ». I think those imperfections are what makes it raw and true. The pictures don't lie and that’s what I like. It shows authentic woman bodies, assumed.

Are you afraid that the female subjects in your photos could be objectified or sexualised by a certain audience? Or are you perhaps conveying a non-erotic experience of the freedom of a human being in their pure form?

I am not afraid the female subject could be objectified or sexualized. Being afraid of that would be a step backwards I think. I can’t stop anybody from doing it though, but being free of showing the woman's body could also help people to think about it in another way maybe. The more we hide our bodies the more it gets eroticized or fantasized. So to show it is also a way to normalize it.

Is this how you envision the world after the pandemic is over?

I have many visions of the world after the pandemic is over. This one is one yes. It could be. « Nature regains its rights » and the human, devoid of his urban dweller attributes, rediscovers what it is to live connected with his environment.

Would you say your photographs reflect on a personal desire for escapism and discovery? How drawn are you to nature and the wilderness and how do your photographs potentially reflect that?

Yes totally. My photographs reflect this desire for escapism, wilderness, discovery... I think the moments in my life I felt the most happier and fulfilled were the ones where I was close to nature, free from work and city life. That's also the moment I like to shoot the most, where I am the most inspired. In those environments, I feel letting go from all thoughts and I have then a virgin ground to experiment.