TENDER is the latest project from photographer and zine maker Indigo Lewin. Following on from He Loves Me Not, a zine exploring the idea of love addiction and toxic fantasy, and 4EVA&EVA, a photographic study of idyllic romance and the iconography of young love, Indigo’s second solo show returns to the same subject, the big L, but from a place of empathy and understanding as opposed to fetishization or voyeurism.
“I think that 4EVA&EVA came from a place of yearning and TENDER comes from more of a place of experience,” she tells i-D. “This body of work is a lot more personal.” Deriving its name from its dictionary definitions (to mean gentle, kind, and affectionate) TENDER offers an all encompassing view of the romantic relationship. Both the beautiful and the ugly, feelings of empowerment and vulnerability, of deep romance and the sometimes transactional nature of sexual exchange.
A presentation of anonymous lovers and abstracted intimate moments, this series of photographs allows the viewer a sense of familiarity, identification and the projection of their own experience of love and lust onto the faceless subjects. “Keeping the subjects anonymous has allowed me to project my own emotional experiences onto the images,” she continues. “In terms of evolvement I suppose my work has become increasingly less guarded. TENDER is a lot more abstract than anything I’ve done before but it’s definitely my most honest body of work thus far. I think that I always end up coming back to this same subject matter — emotion, sensuality, sexuality — and I hope that the viewer can find some of their own experience of that within the images.”
Curated by Marie Madec and coinciding with The Rencontres d’Arles photo fair, TENDERopens July 2nd at Galerie Huit, 8 Rue de la Calade, 13200 Arles, and will be accompanied by the release of Indigo’s first book produced by Sans Titre 2016.