‘Divine Vessels’: Yasmina Safi Captures the Many Masks of Woman [Interview]

Slick latex gloves, lacy negligees in fire-engine red, ivory linens draped carelessly across naked, muscular bodies: touch-me textures and an occasional pop of color burn through the smoldering haze of Yasmina Safi’s bedroom photographs. Shot primarily on film and Polaroid, her work captures a self-directed romance rarely seen in stories that center on women and their bodies. “As women and as people, we maintain power in the construction of our public selves,” Yasmina says. “Body freedom is being able to express ourselves and our femininity however we see fit. It’s freedom from societal expectations about behavior, from negative associations between how a woman chooses to present herself and who she is.” <img alt="Shooting on Polaroid for a dreamy effect, Los Angeles photographer Yasmina Safi experiments with voyeurism, escapism, and shades of femininity." src="https://miro.medium.com/v2/resize:fit:700/0*ClU-rlr-QkEEN5L6.jpg" style="height:473px; width:700px" /> ‘Untitled’ The models in Yasmina’s photos are muse-like, descendants of the nine Greek goddesses who inspired creativity and passion in their earthly worshippers. Harnessing the inherent connection between liberation and sexual pleasure found in the muses, Yasmina injects a much-needed dose of autonomy and identity into the trope, allowing her models’ limbs to fade in and out of frame and focus. “There are forms we take on in our daily lives when we are under observation, and then different forms in our private lives,” she explains. “These photos are meant to embody the characters we play and how it feels to move through both spaces.” <a href="https://medium.com/@sourdough/divine-vessels-yasmina-safi-captures-the-many-masks-of-woman-interview-bbfa668c35e2">Read More</a>