Olivia Arthur – Murmurings of the Skin
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- Category: Book
- Topic: Body, Photography
- Publisher: Void
- Country: Greece
- Language: English
- Release: 2024
- Cover: Softcover
- Binding: Thread
- Size: 22.5 x 28 cm
- Pages: 160
- Copies: 1.500
Murmurings of the Skin is a photographic exploration of the human connection to the body. The starting point for the work was Olivia Arthur’s own pregnancy and the project developed to encompass series about physicality and sexuality, stability and robotics, touch, gesture and solitude. The photographs, made over eight years, range from intimate and sensual portraits alongside those of robots and people engaging with technology—challenging notions of what it means to be human.
Arthur began the work in response to her first pregnancy and the feeling that her body had suddenly become public property—concurrent with a developing fascination with its innate machine-like ability to form a child. This transformation established an interest and curiosity in exploring more broadly our relationship to our bodies—what it means to feel comfortable in one’s own skin, about the importance of touch and intimacy, and what we are able to do to replicate bodies with technology.
The photographs in ‘Murmurings of the Skin’ are united by a focus on texture, movement and skin. Images of Arthur’s pregnancy and two daughters are interspersed with those made in Mumbai exploring gender and sexuality, intimate portraits made in Rome during the Covid-19 pandemic, stills of an amputee ballerina presented in an Eadweard Muybridge-like motion sequence, portraits of a child robot, and of those who have contemporary technology incorporated into their bodies following illness or loss. The book is not ordered around place and time but goes on a journey of exploration with the photographs providing a visual framework for the viewer to explore the human relationship to the body.
Olivia Arthur is a renowned British photographer and former president of Magnum Photos (2020–2022). Known for her intimate and thought-provoking work, she often explores themes of cultural identity, gender, and the intersection between East and West. Her projects span across continents, with notable works in India, Saudi Arabia, and Europe. Arthur is also a co-founder of Fishbar, a photography space in London, where she continues to push the boundaries of visual storytelling.
