MICHELE MARDORF

ART DIRECTOR

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GOLD MARKS

The Gold Marks Project celebrates the strength and resilience of the female body by empowering individuals of all sizes, colors, and identities to look at imperfections as something beautiful that represents experience and wisdom.

*ongoing project*

INSPIRATION There’s this Japanese art form called Kintsukuroi in which they repair objects with gold lacquer. By emphasizing on the gold marks instead of repairing it to look as if it had never been broken, we then see that the object has a history. And with history comes experience. And with experience, wisdom. [Click on link to read more]	HEALING THROUGH SELF-LOVE One of the most interesting parts of this project is seeing how every human carries themselves differently in regards to their body. Energy & aura definitely play a big part in the outcome of these pieces. I ask my participants to choose poses that best reflect their relationship with their body, so every photo tells a story about the character and personality of the individual. [Click on link to read more]	MOM TALK “Did your mom ever talk to you about your stretch marks?” As part of the process of laying the gold on their bodies, I raise questions to the girls about their past experiences with stretch marks. This question has been particularly enlightening in understanding the way each girl views their own body and imperfections. [Click on link to read more]
HONESTY IN CONFIDENCE “I haven’t always been confident, at least not honestly. It’s taken me years to love this body and some days I still have to convince myself that I'm worthy of love and belonging.” [Click on link to read more]	DID SHE KNOW? DID YOU KNOW: though stretch marks are very common (about 70% of teenage girls, and 90% of pregnant women get stretch marks) there are a select few that don’t ever get them? [Click on link to read more]	MY SKIN, MY RULES “There’s going to be guys that will like you more for your natural imperfections and some less, but at the end of the day what matters most is how you feel in your own skin.” [Click on link to read more]