Women explore paradise in Siargao as Kim Cruz and Camille Robiou du Pont exhibit new works for “Les Paradis Perdus"
Feminist in many ways, Kim Cruz and Camille Robiou du Pont's new exhibit at the Modeka Creative Space has managed to draw a crowd. On the walls are pictures and paintings, images that depict the female form. Bared through the lens, behind trees and even underwater, women's bodies are seen for what it is: strong, elegant, and sacred. They honour "the divine female energy and mother nature" and despite the intimacy of the poses, are in no way, presented in a sexual light.
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Titled "Les Paradis Perdus", the French translation of "lost paradise", the exhibit features solo works of both Cruz and Robiou du Pont, as well as five collaborative large-scale paintings. "We met in Siargao island and she [Cruz] wanted to have a shoot with me and [I] realised our artwork is very similar in the aesthetic and the thematic," Robiou du Pont says of her then-burgeoning friendship with Cruz.
It seemed serendipitous then, how well their works came together. Robiou du Pont had shot her photographs before Cruz had found creative influence. In essence, they had done their works separately, with a similar idea in mind—the execution simply came out incredibly seamless. "We didn't really talk about anything. I think just by seeing the artwork of each, we knew the collaboration would be something about nature and water. We never felt like we didn't understand each other," Robiou du Pont explains.
For her part, Robiou du Pont had photographed some incredible images in Siargao. They are all women; one of my favourites is entitled Mayari VII. It is a photo of a woman taken from behind as she explores a rock formation. With her hair tied and a loose scarf around her body, it accentuates the strength and elegance of feminine curvature. Mayari XII, on the other hand, depicts two women as they embrace underwater. The image alone shows the skill of the photographer as one imagines how she must navigate the water to capture an image like this—and in fact, Robiou du Pont is a master at water photography. A surfer herself, she understands the perils and rewards of the art. "I got my free-diving license to be able to teach my models to swim. When I shoot many women at the same time, I ask who can go deep and who is afraid. This is how I compose my picture, by the skill of the model," she explains.
