“Accepting and loving our body fully and unconditionally is a very difficult task for many of us. The way media shape our world plays a huge role in this, by causing us to be confronted with 'perfect' body imagery countless times a day. This body image is portrayed as the norm and internalized by us: we learn that these bodies are the norm. Reality shows that no body actually looks like this. Besides this unrealistic imagery, trauma can also play a huge roll in accepting, feeling and/or owning our bodies.

Many of us are affected - me included. As a photographer I am always interested to see the world through my lens. One day I decided to put myself in front of my camera. Naked. It was weird to see my body like this, as I have never seen it from a distant and outside perspective. It was as if I was seeing it through someone else's eyes. The more I started to do this, the more familiar I got with my body and the way it looked from all angels. My body and mind started to synchronise more and more. I started to feel more confident and more in touch with my body. I lost layers of shame.

Amazed by the effect, I wondered if I could also use this experience to help others. This is when I started to photograph other humans. They were brave enough to share their stories and unfold in front of my camera. After sharing the photos, we examined the effects together - I was blown away by the transformations these people went through. We captured these effects for you in the form of interviews for you to read here. Bottom line is that our conversations, the shoot and the result (a beautiful set of pictures) caused major shifts in how these beautiful humans perceived and experienced themselves and their bodies. 

Encouraged by these results, I developed a working method: the Unfold Experience. It is a personal journey, guided by me, using photography as a tool towards self-love, acceptance and body celebration. As your guide, I would love to help you by sharing my personal process and experiences with you along the way. Are you ready to unfold with me?”

Lie A. Kietselaer