When Julia Kozerski, an artist and photographer, decided to change her life, she weighed 338 pounds. Through healthy diet and increased exercise, she lost half her body weight; She lost over 160 pounds. But the result of this major weight loss didn’t turn out to be like what she had always dreamed of. She still did not get the body she desired, instead she got saggy skin and stretch marks.
“While I genuinely believed that my hard work and dedication would transform me into that “perfect” person of my dreams, the reality of what has resulted is quite the opposite. My experience contradicts what the media tends to portray. While it is easy to celebrate and appreciate the dramatic physical results of such an endeavor, underneath the layers of clothing and behind closed doors, quite a different reality exists.” – she wrote.
It was when she decided to capture herself in the camera and show the physical and mental struggles tied with body image and weight loss. These photographs are Julia’s nude self-portraits, which includes her post-weight loss skin and stretch marks, and also picture of Julia in her wedding dress, which is now too big for her. The stunning series of photographs is called Half.
“They serve as reflections of my experience and address and explore my physically and emotionally painful, private struggles with food, obsession, self-control, and self-image. These brutally honest images shed light on the truth of what it is like for me to live life as Half of myself.”
This project does not only show the loose skin and marks on Julia’s body, it shows her effort and her acceptance. Her work has been exhibited internationally. This project aims at the theme of beauty and body image. It is for the people who have issues with and are insecure about their “flawed” body. Julia said that this project will be a success if other people see her photographs and realize that they are not alone in their body image struggles.