”At first I hesitated because of the whole nudity thing,” says Ron Laxamana, one of four brother-and-sister duos photographed in the buff by Jason Penney. ”But it turned out okay. I hate to use a cliche, but it`s all very tastefully done.”
Entitled ”Siblings,” the show runs through Nov. 23 at the Northern Illinois University Gallery, 212 W. Superior St. This is the first public exhibition of a series by Penney, who has been photographer Victor
Skrebneski`s assistant for 1 1/2 years.
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”The idea developed because I wanted to do a series of portraits and I`m fascinated with the similarities of genders,” says Penney. ”So I decided to photograph brothers and sisters who looked alike but weren`t twins.”
All the brother-and-sister couples are shown from the waist up with a minimum of frontal nudity.
”I thought photographing half the body was enough to express what I wanted,” says Penney. ”Full nudity would have put it in a different realm. Then I did the close-ups of selective areas because you`re not sure right away which one it is, and I like that androgyny.”