AU NATURAL
A project by Justine Latour presented in collaboration with Eric Watters

Opening Reception: Thursday, March 9th, 2017 7 – 10 pm
Exhibition Run: Thursday, March 9th, 2017 - Sunday, April 2nd, 2017.

Before Christianity put down its roots through Europe, there was such a thing as an unadorned, unadulterated female nude. Indeed during the time of Ancient Greece, women’s bodies were not a thing of shame or disgust, but rather something that was celebrated in all of its glory. However, Christian beliefs dating back to the Old Testament have had a profound impact on the way that we think of ourselves, and our bodies. In today’s society, laws concerning decency and obscenity have made us to believe that female nakedness is sinful, ugly and evil. Au Natural, a five look wearable art collection, hopes to dispute these common views concerning
nudity, and also highlight issues of gender inequality in current censorship laws and policies. Consisting of three dimensional construction, print and transparency, Au Natural looks to exhibit the natural body in a celebratory and beautiful way, and inspire positive outlooks and opinions surrounding the female nude.

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Justine Latour is a Toronto-based multidisciplinary artist, and recent graduate from the Fashion Design program at Ryerson University. Central to her work is a drive to make statements, push boundaries, and provoke reactions regarding feminist issues, specifically concerning the human figure. The conceptual basis of her work is explored through a combination of collage, craftsmanship and digital design techniques. She's a millennial artiste with 21st century sensibilities, tools and training that empower her to pursue all manners of projects.

Eric Watters is a multimedia artist working and thinking in Toronto. Eric’s practice stems from an interest in documenting his life experiences, environments and feelings. By marrying vulnerability and a desire to story-tell, Eric’s projects embrace simple compositional elements both in the frame and the exhibition space. This, along with a keen interest in working with other creatives in the industry, Eric has developed a curatorial practice. In an effort to integrate the two, Eric allows both his artistic and curatorial practice to influence and challenge one another.