MARIO TESTINO. UNDRESSED

Mario Testino's Undressed removes various layers. Coinciding with an exhibition conceived exclusively for the Helmut Newton Foundation in Berlin, this intimate series explores the notion of undressing in photography as much as it lays Testino's archive bare, probing beyond the photographer's established public image to reveal a deeper understanding of his practice and oeuvre.

The 50 featured photographs center on the naked body, alternately exploring and pushing the traditions and boundaries between sex, gender identity, and fashion. Honoring the influence of Helmut Newton, the images become abstracted body landscapes, the protagonists appearing as mere form, a torso, even a statue.

A special highlight are previously unseen photographs shot in the Testino studio, in which an exuberant atmosphere intermingles with the implicit frisson of nudity and where playfully amorous dynamics never slip into the obscene or pornographic.