In magazines and advertisements, we rarely see the human body as it is meant to be seen, with all its flaws and imperfections. Modern technology has made it possible to alter perceptions of ‘attractiveness’, and to hide the reality of our own flesh. Photographer Gracie Hagen attempts to challenge the perceptions of attractiveness in her series ‘Illusions of the Body’. Hagen takes two frames of her subjects, women and men of all shapes and sizes. In the first, they strike conventionally attractive poses that show off attractive parts of the body and hide the flaws. In the second frame, they let their bodies fall into unflattering poses with slouchy shoulders and awkward postures. On her website, Hagen explains “This series was made to tackle the supposed norms of what we think our bodies are supposed to look like. Most of us realize that the media displays only the prettiest photos of people, yet we compare ourselves to those images. We never get to see those photos juxtaposed against a picture of that same person looking unflattering. That contrast would help a lot of body image issues we as a culture have.” 

Find out more about Gracie Hagen here!