Nadia is now represented by DMB, alongside another of her early inspirations Martin Parr, and is becoming the photographer du jour in fashion circles. Her career began with a project called 100 Naked Women, for which Nadia put out a casting call on Instagram for any woman who wanted to be photographed in her birthday suit. Within days she was inundated with requests. “I’ve been photographed naked a lot. The first time it happened I remember being really apprehensive, but I later experienced a huge feeling of empowerment and self-assurance. 100 Naked Women is basically me using the skills I have as an image-maker to offer this [feeling] to other women, most of whom don’t normally model,” she explains.
Censorship of female nudity in social media is an issue that Nadia too has to battle with. “The female body and the line between porn and art is feared, but I’m hopeful that it won’t be this way forever,” she says. “I understand that it’s a part of social media and I have to abide by their rules, but this was also a huge factor in creating the 100 Naked Women book. It’s a platform to respond to, and challenge, the debate on censorship. The book will have no rules concerning the parts of the female anatomy each woman chooses to reveal.”
For more information on Nadia Lee’s work, visit nadialeecohen.com.
This interview is taken from our latest issue, Right Way Up. To buy a copy, click here and to find your local stockist, check here.
