Intimate Photos of Young British Nudists [NSFW]

May 3, 2012

Like the decidedly less adventurous cousins of Ryan McGinley’s spirited young nudes, the subjects of Laura Pannack’s fascinating Young British Naturists series congregate at breakfast tables, put together puzzles, and quietly reading books. They play polite games of tennis and foosball, and flip burgers on a makeshift grill. The London-based fine art photographer’s images are not meant to titillate; rather, these unassuming photos of a group of young UK naturists — which received first prize in the Portrait Singles category of the World Press Photo awards — are an attempt to challenge the stereotype of what the life of a nudist actually looks like.

“In order to understand why my subjects were naturists and gain their trust I decided to also be naked– this in fact allowed my subjects to feel like I was the vulnerable one,” Pannack recently explained to It’s Nice That. “It was interesting to discover that in fact naturists are not in fact exhibitionists and gaining their trust was extremely difficult. For many the world of naturism is an escape from everyday life.” Click through to check out a selection of photos from the series, and if you’re in London, check out her impressive work in person at Gallery One and a Half now through June 29.

Photo credit: Laura Pannack