The subjects of Phillip Toledano’s A New Kind Of Beauty series have had some work done. They have had a lot, a lot of work done. Aren’t they gorgeous?
Body modification this extreme has a negative stigma, but let go of that. See them poised classically in soft, meticulous chiaroscuro. See them in their self-actualized flesh. Let them remodel your idea of physical aesthetics to theirs. Toledano explains:
“Beauty has always been a currency, and now that we finally have the technological means to mint our own, what choices do we make? Is beauty informed by contemporary culture? By history? Or is it defined by the surgeon’s hand? Can we identify physical trends that vary from decade to decade, or is beauty timeless? When we re-make ourselves, are we revealing our true character, or are we stripping away our very identity? Perhaps we are creating a new kind of beauty. An amalgam of surgery, art, and popular culture? And if so, are the results the vanguard of human induced evolution?”
The versatile Mr. Toledano is also responsible for outsourcing propaganda portraits of himself as a dictator in Kim Jonh Phil and photographing that Phonesex series. See his work at “A New Kind Of Beauty,” Phil Toledano, Jun 2 – Jul 7, Kopeikin Gallery, Los Angeles.
