the
ab·solve
(verb) set or declare one's self free from blame, guilt, pain, or shame
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, a common expression, but to merit truth, two questions must be considered. What defines beauty, and whom is the beholder? For each of us would define beauty differently based off our varying backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives, but to ask the harder question, does one find themselves beautiful by that same definition? For being on the outside of one’s self, beauty can tend to be viewed critically, living in a social media driven culture and community where the external trumps the internal. This continual emphasis on external beauty treads a thin line to then also warrant self-worth. It is such standards of these beholders of beauty that leave those that may not fit the stereotype of perfectly sculpted pecs, chiseled abs and hyper-masculinity, to feel ordinary or even less than ordinary.
Despite the stereotypes and aesthetic stigmas that exist, the archetypes of which we all try to fit ourselves into, if even on a subconscious level, there resides a commonality. Being repressed as to who you are, to lock away the ability to be and to express yourself was, and is the ultimate motivator for those to step out of the proverbial closet and become no longer ordinary, but extraordinary. However experiencing a level, a need for acceptance, creates insecurities, something we all as humans, regardless of age, sex, race, or sexual preference have in common. It is these insecurities that can either motivate us to find the beauty and strength within ourselves, or to externalize our beauty, as to fit in with others, out of fear of yet again not being accepted.
There is a beauty to the details that make us human, the details that are derived from moments in our lives that may not be so pretty, or sweet, or kind, but rather moments that tear, dent, dig, and scar us. It is these imperfections, which we should embrace, to see as our true beauty. It is with this project that I aim to those participating, the opportunity to let the power of water to absolve, to wash away these preconceived notions of externalized worth and beauty. It was within the sanctum of the womb that we were for the first and last time immune to judgement, to hate and to insecurities. We must absolve ourselves of such negativity, and allow ourselves to finally take a breath of air while breaking through the surface of discovering the beauty that lies beneath.