Ecstasy, from the series The Passions: Photography by Judith Thorpe

Connecticut-based photographer, Judith Thorpe brings her work Ecstasy: From the Series, The Passions to New Bedford Art Museum/ArtWorks!’s Heritage Gallery.

The Passions of which Ecstasy is a part considers the representation of the female body, exploring the tension between idealized and real. The work considers historical representations of the female body in precedents such as Greek and Roman statuary and religious icons. It is an exploration of the female body as it ages, questioning concepts of beauty. The body is shrouded or obscured, reflecting upon the inner self. Draped and wrapped in white cloth, the female figure is ritualized.

Through her massive photographs, Thorpe offers essential explorations of the female form from a feminist point of view. Inverting the historical male gaze and transforming it to an inward examination of the female figure as it changes over time, Thorpe beckons an examination of the contemporary representation of aging female bodies.

Credit: Exhibition overview from museum website