Eavesdrop On Experts

WARNING: EXPLICIT LANGUAGE. The inspiration for the exhibition Flesh after Fifty came about as a result of Professor Martha Hickey’s work in the menopause service. “Women facing menopause at an early age would often say ‘I’m going to be an old woman’,” explains the professor of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at the University of Melbourne and Royal Women’s Hospital. “Those two words together were the worst thing in the world. Reflecting on myself and the women that I knew and the contribution of older women, I really wanted to change that message.” Lead curator of the exhibition Jane Scott describes the dilemma and also the delight of this exhibition was attempting to photograph 500 women over the age of 50 in the nude. “Most of the women would comment and talk about the fact that they were unhappy in their own skin,” she says. “But once they got that off their chest, they started to talk about how proud they were of their bodies for carrying them around, for delivering them the ability to have the life that they