...on a Good Friday
…on a Good Friday
Fear? No more!
From the moment we’re born, most of us are taught to fear showing ourselves as we are, to feel modesty about our bodies and discomfort with them, thanks to the prejudices imposed by the society we live in. Today that same society is turning around, understanding and daring to break the mold. Today it was my turn to be part of the wonderful experience in front of Pralad’s lens, together with a group of incredible, brave women whom I felt like sisters as we posed together.
I was scared… it was my first session, but at the same time I was intrigued to feel the freedom everyone talks about when posing for him.
Today, at 26, I finally felt a sense of absolute freedom in the most unexpected place, downtown Santiago. I didn’t feel trapped in it, but part of it, like one more brick of the city. I felt free, brave, sure of my surroundings and, even more importantly, an absolute love for my body. I felt it was perfect just as it was, with no rejection in showing it, as there used to be.
By freeing my body I also freed my soul.
Francisca
Having the chance to live the experience of leaving your comfort zone and showing yourself without taboos, vulnerable, wearing only your skin and your attitude, is one of the most wonderful things.
You also understand that nudity goes beyond something sexualizable or with a single purpose. We came into the world naked and beautiful, and little by little we forget that. We become insecure and repressed, setting aside the fact that each of us has a unique body that protects us and cares for our essence. More than for anyone else, getting naked may be one of the most beautiful acts of self-love there is.
Nore
I think I had never been able to feel as much freedom as I felt that cold Good Friday morning.
You get up at 5 in the morning, look for the right clothes (a long coat, Pralad recommends), you’re nervous in the Uber or on the bus on the way to the meeting point. When you arrive you see several women like you, in long coats with nervous, anxious faces; you talk with them, we laugh, we relax. Suddenly we all find ourselves taking our clothes off, covering each other, hearts racing, waiting for the signal. You run at full speed with the obligatory little nervous scream and pose as naturally as possible.
I feel so free from the moment I undress. Enjoying the cold, the wind and the human warmth we give each other. This is one of those experiences you think you’ll never do, and yet there you are, butt naked, running through the city.
There’s no way to thank Pralad enough for the opportunity he gives us to empower ourselves in front of the world and this beautiful capital, which, even though we criticize it a lot sometimes, also gives us beautiful spaces to admire.
Pochi
In the photographs