The Full Body Project

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

All photographs by Leonard Nimoy/courtesy of R Michelson Galleries

 

Leonard Nimoy (Mr Spock of ‘Star Trek fame) had a high respect for plus-sized women.

 

In 2007, Nimoy published a collection of photographs which he titled The Full Body Project. The idea was to challenge entrenched concepts of beauty. They echoed the work of artists from Botticelli to Matisse and Helmut Newton. The models were from a burlesque group in San Francisco, USA, called the Fat Bottom Revue.

 

The photos were in black and white, and they featured a group of ‘fat’ women laughing, smiling, embracing and gazing fearlessly into the camera.

 

What was really special was the fact that Nimoy’s photographs of bulging bodies were presented with dignity instead of ridicule, displayed as objects of beauty instead of as punchlines and honoured instead of lampooned.

 

On Tuesday, I was at the Speecom Toastmasters meeting in KL’s Bandar Sri Damansara. I was the General Evaluator and I found that, overall, it was a well-organized and well-conducted meeting. And better still, punctuality was keenly observed. A 7 over 10 score.