The photographic series “Radical Beauty” is an experimental exploration of contemporary beauty standards shaped by social media and digital photo-editing tools. In this series, I combine my own photographs with digital and physical manipulation to create hybrid portraits that expose the paradox of digital self-creation: while tools such as filters or editing apps enable emancipation and artistic expression, they simultaneously perpetuate unrealistic standards, leading to the internalization of visual pressure. The series challenges patriarchal norms by proposing alternative representations of femininity, while also warning against the loss of authenticity in a world dominated by illusions. Through multi-stage processes – including interventions in photographic prints, scanning, collage construction, painting on the surface of images, and digital manipulations – I aim to emphasize the artificiality of 'perfect’ images, contributing to the discourse of post-photography. This project is my personal contribution to the debate on the relationship between the body, technology, and identity in the age of social media, where the boundaries between creation and self-destruction become increasingly blurred. A key technique in the series is the intentional deformation of women’s images – exaggerated eyes, smoothed facial features, or grotesque proportions – which reveal the absurdity of pursuing digital 'perfection’ while unmasking the technological mechanisms that construct such illusions. These distortions serve not only as a metaphor for societal expectations but also as a tool for feminist emancipation. By transforming and exaggerating physical traits, I propose alternative, radical visions of womanhood that transcend patriarchal norms. “Radical Beauty” is also a provocative inquiry into the boundaries between creative freedom and the enslavement to visual fantasies perpetuated by contemporary culture.

Ewa Doroszenko