Changing Room

London-based photographer-director Turkina observes freedom, vulnerability, and the politics of the female body from a public changing room

London-based photographer-director Turkina explores the meaning of vulnerability and strength for the visual short Changing Room. Drawing inspiration from select male gaze paintings and feminist art, painted with reverence, not voyeurism, she observes women in flux in the shared spaces of a London gym, stripping off layers amid steam and mirrors – an act approached by some with ease, and others with apprehension.

“This is not a study of appearance, but of perception. Of what it means to be "free" when you are constantly being watched. This work is for every person who has ever stood in front of a mirror and questioned what they see – and who it really belongs to.”

Considering the layered vulnerability of being undressed in a public yet intimate space, choreographer Morgaine Ann de Leonardis and stylist Lilia Toncheva O’Rourke mold a visual story around women and their interactions within a gym changing room – a place that seems safe but never entirely free from scrutiny. Beneath the surface of confidence or a curated appearance, Changing Room seeks to recognize modern echoes of ancient tensions – with the female body as a site of power, beauty, labour, exposure, violence, control, and politics.