The most thought-provoking photo stories of the month

THESE INSTA ARTISTS ARE CHANGING OUR VIEWS ON BODY IMAGE

We got together five of our favourite photographers and digital artists – Molly Soda, Arvida Byström, Saerah Lee, Alexandra Marzella and Rupi Kaur – together to have a frank and intelligent conversation about body image and censorship in the age of Instagram. 

THESE FEMALE PHOTOGS TAKE BETTER SELFIES THAN YOU

Who’d have thought a world of self-portraiture existed before the selfie. Putting our narcissistic tendencies to shame – we rounded up the women who did it better before – Cindy Sherman, Vivian Maier and Petra Collins included.

WHAT YOU WISH YOUR WEEKEND LOOKED LIKE

Sex, drugs and rock and roll literally collide in this photo series by Gioia de Bruijn. Capturing the essence of what it is to be young and #dgaf, the photographer shot her friends as they tackled the weekend in the only way they knew how. de Bruijn told us: “I take pictures because they’re a moment that I want to remember. A lot of the time, art is, at that point, not the motivation for taking a photo. It didn't start as art – the art part came later.”

PHOTOS FROM TOKYO’S UNBRIDLED SEX SCENE

Who knew the Japanese were so kinky? And with good reason. When Polish-born photographer Pawel Jaszczuk entered the subversive, after-hours world of the city’s sex scene he encountered an open-mindedness to sex that is still absent in the west. He said: “Sex, erotic, pornography – all this is part of life, especially in art, a natural human need that is not subjected to moral evaluation in Japan. What someone is doing with his body is his private matter.”

THESE PHOTOS EXPLORE ONE GIRL’S COMING-OF-AGE

A pink-hued photo series saw recent graduate Ruby Robinson share personal images of her experience growing up, with ice cream and bikini bottoms symbolising that fleeting simplicity of having the world at your feet.

A CRASH COURSE IN INTIMACY FOR THE DIGITAL GENERATION

“I fall in love with my subjects and through the lens I try to build this insecure connection with the delicate intimacy of a particular moment. No matter if it's a girl or a boy, I find a piece of myself in every character," Nadia Bedzhanova told us as she shared intimate portraits of New York’s youth.

THE GROWING PAINS OF A BOY WHO DREAMED OF BEING A GIRL

From the Dazed’s Last Shot archive we shared this inspirational story from Rona Yefman. Documenting a 14-year journey as her brother Gil transitioned into a woman before making the journey back to living as a biological man, Yefman’s images are intimate, sensitive and pure beauty.

NUDES COLLIDE WITH BRUTALIST BUILDINGS IN KIEV

In what was aptly titled Concrete & Sex, photographer Sasha Kurmaz shared diptychs of nudes and Kiev’s brutalist architecture. A juxtaposition of angles, Kurmaz told us: “Every work of art has a political component and reflects an ideological stance towards or against an authoritative direction. Ukrainian society for the most part is very conservative. In this context, demonstration of the naked body and sexuality acquires political overtones and acts as a weapon against conservatism, conformism and religious fanaticism.”

THIS NEW MAG IS REINTERPRETING THE MEANING OF PORN

Pornceptual is the Berlin-based publication queering porn through art; illustration, painting, photography. Their first issue, "Pornifesto" dropped this month and they gave us the preview. Revisit it below.

RAW AND HONEST PHOTOS EXPLORE THE RELATIONSHIPS WE KEEP

Acting as a fly on the wall, recent graduate Rosaline Shahnavaz captured portraits of her friends in an exploration of intimacy. She told us: “The photographs were raw and honest, and showed the intimacy of my relationships. I like to build strong relationships with whoever I’m photographing so their personality can come through.”