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Ritual Sacrifice

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a woman is tanning in a stand up tanning both, completely naked.
a woman wearing bright lingerie is in a tanning booth.
the bottom half of a woman peers through the side of a tanning both, with a hand on her bottom crease.
the lower half of a woman, completely naked, is in a tanning booth.
a woman is in a tanning booth with a gold face mask on, staring straight into the camera
a close up of a woman's face, wearing a lip mask.
a close up of a woman's face, wearing a gold face mask.
a close up of a woman's bare breasts in a tanning booth.
a close up of buttocks in a tanning booth.
a woman is dancing in a tanning booth.
a woman with green hair is bent over.
close up of hands tying a bikini botton.
close up of a woman's torso typing bikini bottoms.

I could not tell you exactly what year I met Emma, but I've always been transfixed by the way she manipulates her body. It was an ever-evolving process, including Botox, fillers, and breast implants.

Emma was a few years older than me, and I observed her with a mixture of reverence and fear. Reverence because it was so bold and gutsy to control your own body that way, to stick needles and to go under the knife to look a certain way. Body horror for body aspiration. Fear, because working in an industry that puts such heavy emphasis on appeasing the gaze, I was acutely aware that one day I may need to make such decisions myself.

With love and thanks to Emma <3

digital photographs
edinburgh, 2018