Art exposes taboo attitudes to breasts
Whether hairy, inverted or dressed up with a tattoo, strangers online are sending in pictures of their unique nipples to make a compelling wall of art.
Wellington student Courteney Lomas, 23, who is collecting the photos for an art exhibition, said she wanted the artwork to change New Zealand’s taboo-like attitude towards nipples.
She hoped it would bring people to feel comfortable talking about nipple-related topics, seeing them and feeling normal with their unique appearance.
‘‘It’s to generate conversations [like] everyone’s nipples are so different, maybe mine aren’t as weird as I thought they were’,’’ she said.
Lomas asked strangers on Facebook for the supply of nipples. She has about 50 pictures to create the 2-metre by 1-metre work called Nip Slip. ‘‘Some people have taken them really artistically, others are selfie-style.’’
She and her friends, called 9NIP, started the idea after they concluded that New Zealand had an issue with nipples, which was negatively affecting some people. ‘‘You can pretty much show as much cleavage as you want until it gets to that nipple-point, then it’s like, ‘Oh, that’s too far’.’’
She hoped by making the topic of nipples a comfortable subject, it would help those
who have nipple-related health issues.
‘‘All of us have a personal story of knowing someone who has been diagnosed with breast cancer and they’ve been really uncomfortable to talk about it because of the way society treats breasts.’’
Nip Slip would also challenge attitudes towards breastfeeding and going topless in public.
For 9NIP’s Ayla Corner, the exhibition was about making people feel comfortable
enough in their own body to seek medical attention if they needed it.
Along with Nip Slip, they will sell prints and boob earrings, made from polymer clay, at the exhibition. The proceeds will go to support the non-profit Sweet Louise, which supports people with non-curable cancer.
The exhibition will be open to the public at the {suite} Art Gallery, in Wellington, from October 5 to 11.