With its 13th edition, THE OPÉRA, editor Matthias Straub once again delivers a strongly curated statement on contemporary nude photography. MYTHOS, published by KERBER VERLAG, approaches the naked body as a projection surface for truth, longing, and identity - striking a precise balance between classical heritage and contemporary discourse.
Straub assembles an exciting range of international artists who understand the nude not as provocation, but as a cultural and aesthetic narrative. Inspired by ancient myths in which gods and humans exist side by side, the issue unfolds a visual tension between sensuality, philosophy, and contemporary image-making.
We were particularly impressed by Nanda Hagenaars in this edition. In her radically reduced black-and-white work, an intense sense of intimacy emerges: the protagonist’s face is partially overlaid by the profile of a second figure - a visual interplay between closeness and distance. She is not merely interested in the body as form, but in what lies beneath it - in what happens invisibly between two people.
The works of photographer and painter Ayline Olukman combine painterly intimacy with photographic precision. Her visual language moves between classical composition and contemporary sensitivity - a compelling dialogue between canvas and lens.
Equally compelling is the position of Daria Gaiduk, who dedicates her project UNVEILED UNITY to the female form. Her work explores body acceptance and emotional intimacy that transcends the purely physical. The images present the body as a space of closeness, vulnerability, and strength - free of clichés, yet full of quiet power.
With MYTHOS, THE OPÉRA once again succeeds in creating an edition that is both aesthetically refined and conceptually layered - uniting beauty, aesthetics, and mysticism in renewed harmony. A high-quality collector’s piece for those who view nude photography as a cultural and philosophical discourse.