Voulez-Vous: Photographs that explore what it means to be a woman.

Welcome to Mamamia’s art endeavour, the Voulez-Vous Project. Every week we celebrate emerging artists, designers, illustrators, creators and women who knit using their vaginas. (Kidding. Maybe.)

The aim: to make the internet a slightly more beautiful, captivating, or thought-provoking place. To find out more about the Voulez-Vous project, click here. Click here to see all the previous Voulez-Vous posts.  

This week’s featured artist on the Voulez-Vous project is Prue Stent.

This talented young photographer creates images that are obscure and challenging, while at the same time retaining a sense of playfulness with her use of bright colours. Prue frequently focuses her photos on the female body – or a part of the female body – and juxtaposes this against random objects, from octopus tentacles to balloons to watermelons.

The objects in each image hint at the meaning Prue is trying to convey with her photos – usually an exploration of the female body or gender identity.

Her artwork is inspired by – and often involves – the women in her life.

“The process of collaboration with my close girl friends as models inspires and influences much of my work,” she says.

“This often spontaneous creative process evokes a natural exploration and questioning of gender identity and stereotypes. I don’t feel the need to be overly intellectual or confrontational on these topics.”

Prue photographs use a lot of colour, and each colour represents a different theme. Her series of photos titled ‘Pink’, for example – which feature that colour – explore “precepts of gender identity”.

“My work playfully explores many feminist themes which are part of the cultural dialogue of young Australians. I occasionally allude to certain taboo topics such as menstruation/ masturbation but this is masked by cues of child like innocence or beauty.”

Prue says her artwork attracts a “range of responses”.

“I don’t set out to be controversial however I do like the idea of challenging my viewers,” she says.

“I set out capture images and ideas which are interesting to me rather than deliberately confrontational – combining challenging ideas/subject matters/imagery with a beautiful aesthetic to hopefully create a sense of intrigue.”

If you’d like to see more of Prue Stent’s work, you can visit her website here, her tumblr here, or follow her on Instagram at prue_stent.

Do you know an artist (or are YOU an artist) who creates beautiful or thought-provoking work and whom you think should be featured on Mamamia’s Voulez-Vous Project? Send an email to info@mamamia.com.au.