Essence Series | Pt. 1

Bare Bones

In 2022 I shot a photographic series that included 5 Archetypes with 6 different muses embodying each one, I titled them Essence Sessions. A merging of photography, transpersonal art therapy, archetypal embodiment, and self expression. The archetypes included Aphrodite, Bare Bones, The Goddess, The Mother, and The Maiden. Each shoot was a co-creation with the muse as they embodied the essence of the archetype, and I then interpreted it with my camera.

My background is in art therapy and I was looking for a way to merge this with photography. I did this by coming up with the 5 archetypes to explore in visual form. They were taken both on location in the South-West of Western Australia, and in my living room studio. I really enjoyed offering this style of shoot as it was such an enjoyable and creative process. To help with the immersion experience, I also included specific essential oils to be used as perfume and themed music to play during the shoot.

When I completed the Essence Sessions I shared a couple of my favourite photos on social media, but then packed them up in a folder on the cloud to collect dust. I was looking through them recently for a portfolio I am working on and decided they needed to be brought back out and admired again.

Enjoy x

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B A R E B O N E S

“An exploration of self and ones own body.
You, bare, in black and white.”

A Special Thank you to my Muse and dear friend - Chambrie.

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I would love to hear if you enjoyed this gallery and concept!
I’m also interested, are you new to art therapy? Have you seen it used in different ways before?