Charlotte Wiig
TERRIBLE BEAUTY
As women, we have never experienced more freedom, more choice and more opportunity than we do presently in the western world. But simultaneously, certain societal pressures are on the rise, as clinics providing Botox, fillers, and other expensive cosmetic procedures are more ubiquitous than ever and it has become the norm that young girls ask for advanced skincare for their birthday.
This duality that women navigate from childhood through adulthood is the focus of my images, titled Terrible Beauty.
In Hollywood, Pamela Anderson has been showered with attention and praise for not wearing makeup, Andie McDowell has gained new respect for not dying her grey hair, Naomi Watts is speaking up about menopause. It feels like there is a shift in beauty expectations on the one hand, but at the same time there is a public assumption that women lose their “market value” once they reach 50. This contradiction is very much still alive. The irony is that even though the use of Botox has skyrocketed, the goal is still that you look as natural as possible (just not old). Beauty is a terribly double edged sword.