Photographer Natasha Komoda's work revolves around body positivity. On Jan. 5, a gallery of her work opened which supports women's reproductive rights.
Komoda’s work is being presented in Bloomington-based design agency Blueline’s gallery, “Our Bodies, Our Choices.” The exhibit will hang at the Blueline Gallery between Jan. 5 and 25.
“It’s about heavily tattooed women,” said Alicia Suarez, who arranged the production of the calendar of Komoda’s work. “There’s a good amount of condemnation of the choices that women have made to heavily tattoo their bodies."
The calendar is available for $25 cash or check, and it is sold in businesses around Bloomington, among them Gather, Time & Tide Tattoo; Jeanne Walters Real Estate; and Be Hair Now.
All proceeds go to Accessible Community Abortions of Bloomington, All Options Pregnancy Resource Center and Planned Parenthood of Bloomington, according to the "Our Bodies, Our Choices" Facebook page.
“It’s really more about supporting financially these organizations which are desperately needed,” Suarez said. “It’s not about just the images, though I think they’re emblematic of the larger issues of women having bodily autonomy. Not only is it a public health issue, it’s a human rights issue.”
Komoda is committed to providing authentic portraits without the use of photoshop on the subject’s body, according to her website. Subjects are asked to wear comfortable, form-fitting clothes as they dance and move to their favorite music. The gallery features 15 women.
“It’s not just focused on young women, or what are seen as traditional beauty standards,” Suarez said. “There’s several women of color, there are different body shapes. Most of the women in the calendar are in their thirties and forties.”
Suarez wanted to produce this calendar to benefit businesses around Bloomington because of what happened politically last year, and what is happening still in terms of women's reproductive health, she said.
“Many, many, many college students use Planned Parenthood, both men and women, for preventative health,” Suarez said. “It’s about humanity and caring about other people."
