Pleasure Me This

PHOTOGRAPHY

Aug 8

In a soon-to-be completed project, photographer Ariella Gibson chronicles the pleasure of looking at what you’re not supposed to, and the contradictory nature of pleasure itself.

Photography Ariella Gibson

The series is sequenced, starting with an innocent and morbid curiosity and morphing into sexual pleasure. Once the project is completed, with only a few photos left to be taken, the project will be compiled into a book.

“People are generally attracted to taboo subjects, but are constantly discouraged from looking at them. I felt it was important for me to make this series because I was ridiculed, by some, for finding joy in looking at and photographing unsavory or unladylike subjects.”

“Photographers are each attracted to certain types of subjects, and this attraction is a kin to sexual attraction. It's just a part of us.”

“The concept of pleasure from a woman’s perspective is underrepresented in art, so I’ve been working to visually explore it from my personal point of view- photographing taste, touch, and feeling.”

About Ariella

Ariella Gibson is an American artist and teacher. In 2013 she received her BFA with a concentration in Photography and minor in Art History from Memphis College of Art. She attended the University of Hartford Art School’s MFA Photography program in 2015. In 2016 she began her career at an inner-city school in North Memphis, soon after, she gave birth to her son.

Her work has been exhibited internationally and she is currently based out of Nanjing, China working as an international art teacher. She was recently a finalist for the Documentary Family Awards 2021.

To see more of Ariella’s work, please visit her website or follow her on Instagram.

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Pleasure Me This

In a soon-to-be completed project, photographer Ariella Gibson chronicles the pleasure of looking at what you’re not supposed to, and the contradictory nature of pleasure itself.

“People are generally attracted to taboo subjects, but are constantly discouraged from looking at them. I felt it was important for me to make this series because I was ridiculed, by some, for finding joy in looking at and photographing unsavory or unladylike subjects.”

“Photographers are each attracted to certain types of subjects, and this attraction is a kin to sexual attraction. It's just a part of us.”

“The concept of pleasure from a woman’s perspective is underrepresented in art, so I’ve been working to visually explore it from my personal point of view- photographing taste, touch, and feeling.”

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