Artist Sam Pooley has photographed her first batch of Shropshire volunteers and is set to hit the road on a UK tour to photograph women from around the UK early next year.
The wallpaper, which will involve the breast-only photographs being subtly incorporated into an over-arching tasteful design, will be launched next summer.
It will be unveiled at Miss Pooley’s fine art degree show, at Birmingham City University, before going on sale as a limited edition artist wallpaper with a proportion of the proceeds going to fund breast cancer research.
Miss Pooley said many groups of women had signed up together, ranging from friends to book clubs.
“Many of the women want to be photographed at the same time as their friends so we’re arranging block bookings and I’m travelling to them with my pop-up studio to photograph them in their home or a friend’s home,” she said.
“The women are making it a fun social event, which eases the nerves some are feeling, so they’ve turned it into a kind of ‘boob’ version of a tupperware party. The evening raises money for Breast Cancer Care and each woman is photographed individually in a private room.
“Most of the women are shy and embarrassed when they first arrive. But by the time they leave they’re feeling empowered and thinking ‘wow I’ve just done that’. ”
Miss Pooley, who lives in Castlefields, Shrewsbury, said the project had received mixed responses from husbands and partners.
“What’s interesting is that they’ve fallen into two camps – husbands and partners who think it’s the coolest, sexiest thing ever and those who really don’t approve,” she said.
“The disapproval seems to make the women all-the-more determined to take part.”
Miss Pooley added she had been overwhelmed by the response to her appeal and had been touched by many stories of women coming forward, including women who have had breast cancer.
Volunteers can also be photographed at Miss Pooleys’s private studio in Shrewsbury town centre. Anyone wishing to take part in the project can contact her on 07531 824561 or at sam@ilovecompost.com.
Miss Pooley kick-started her campaign by having topless photographs of herself taken during an early morning open-air shoot in Shrewsbury.
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