This poster is for the UK's first-ever stand-up comedy show about Asexuality! As such I wanted to create both a satire of sexualized imagery and a celebration of bodies and beauty outside of a sexualized lens. The central photo of me mostly naked on a stool was done as both a parody of 'calendar girls' and also a homage to asexual iconography, namely being cake, which is a huge symbol in the Asexual community; after all, cake is better than sex.
I also wanted the poster to be empowering, fitting the show's namesake. The show being called '(A)sexy and I Know it' is in reference to how the show deals with the trials and tribulations of being an asexual in a sex-obsessed world, but ultimately it's also a story of eventual self-love and empowerment; being proud to be (a)sexy and not fitting inside the pressurizing constraints of conventional sexuality.
While the poster is meant to be a twist on the traditional sexualized image of a naked female body, it was designed to also demonstrate how any body, asexual or otherwise can be viewed as a demonstration of self-empowerment and respect. The poster is meant to show how bodies can exist outside of a sexualized gaze and instead simply be celebratory of the person it belongs to. Our bodies are ultimately our own and no one else's and can be admired and celebrated without the presumption of sexual desire or intention.
Funnily enough, I was actually meant to be entirely nude for this poster, but the plate wasn't uh....big enough...
...I swear that is the only time you will ever hear an asexual bragging about that
- Designer
- Eliott Simpson
- Photographer
- Elly White
- Performer
- Eliott Simpson
- Show
- Eliott Simpson: (A)Sexy and I Know It