Juliana Causi
Reduction to Body
Reduction to Body is a self-portrait series exploring the loss of identity through the objectification of women by featuring only the legs of women in common domestic spaces. The missing body is meant to elicit a response of brokenness and the sense of losing oneself when women are viewed through a narrow erotic lens. The innate beauty of identity is ironically eliminated by the juxtaposition of perfectly displayed, yet broken body parts.
This series allows for visual exploration of the resulting feelings of losing oneself when only viewed for their body parts. From a young age, women drown themselves in efforts to maintain society’s unquenchable expectations of beauty. The impact of this has deep and long-lasting effects on one’s self-worth, esteem, and concept of self.
Often, this obsession causes women to experience difficulty keeping a healthy outlook on life, further impacting wellness and the ability to perform daily tasks, like getting out of bed or other self-care activities. Women are constantly being judged, even though there may be a perception of a controlled outer shell, as seen in the illustration of strong and alluring legs, but this objectification raises questions about the health and wellness of the whole being.
Juliana Causi is a photographer and digital artist who is professionally trained at Ryerson University in Toronto. Through digital photography and screen-based illustrations, she continues to explore various themes of the human body, womanhood, and femininity. Her self-portraits continue to intrigue viewers, not only for the capturing of the physical state and offering her insights and interpretation of society, but so that others can become part of Juliana’s journey of self-expression, exploration, and narrative.