[Sometime best viewed landscape on phones]
This work is unusual for me as so much of the inspiration and the look has come from subject – they are not the subject, they are the co-creator. I’ll say a little more at the end about the process. I’ll let Chan explain the work.
Chantilly Chan
This collection of photographs, created by Phil and myself, explores femininity in all its complexity, its softness, strength, vulnerability, and undeniable presence.
Each image emerged from a close, intuitive, collaboration where movement, emotion, and instinct guided the process. Every gesture, glance, and pause shaped the final composition.
We allowed each moment to unfold naturally, following light, texture, and feeling to create a space where the body could speak in its own language.
I drew my inspiration from the Pre-Raphaelites, particularly Sir John Everett Millais, whose ethereal sensitivity captured figures suspended between the earthly and the imagined.
We had hoped to take photos in the shell of an abandoned church, but that proved to be impractical in early November – though we will return there in the Spring.
Phil suggested adaptations to make the images practical for creating inside. Between us, we reinterpreted that atmosphere through a contemporary lens –
blending the painterly with the photographic, the real with the otherworldly, and the personal with the universal.
This collection embraces the dualities of femininity. Some photographs cradle the body in soft, draped fabric, evoking stillness, introspection, and quiet presence.
In others I introduced a helmet as a symbol of ferocity, strength, and protection, expressing the unrestrained and assertive energy of womanhood.
Each piece reveals a different facet of self, a distinct way of inhabiting and asserting presence within the frame.
Here, art and photography flow together. The camera becomes a vessel of modern interpretation, carrying forward the spirit of the Pre-Raphaelite paint brush into a contemporary realm. It shapes atmosphere, rhythm, and emotion, allowing each photograph to become a space we fully inhabited with intention.
Through this process, the body speaks with honesty and instinct, expressive and alive. The nude form is not objectified but present, engaged, and reclaiming the gaze with gentle confidence.
Ultimately, this collection exists in a liminal space that holds both past and present, painterly softness and photographic clarity, ethereal quiet and grounded strength.
These photographs seek to embody femininity in its fullness: subtle, powerful, delicate, and unrestrained.
They invite the viewer to witness the quiet, the fierce, and the many layers that coexist within feminine presence.
Phil – I’m really enjoying continuing to work more colaboratively, first with Jan and now with Chan. I find it very interesting to discuss and understand the other person’s perspectives on their body and their ways of thinking.
This has been the third time I’ve taken photos with Chan, although only two sets are ready. I’m always delighted when people are keen to be photographed again. They offer me so much; I feel truely touched that Chan has put so much thought, passion, humour and time into this project and I hope we’ll work together again soon – its been great fun creating what we both feel are beutiful images that capture our shared intention.
Phil Pool - Art and Protest 