Ultimate reveal is an intimate behind-the-scenes study of six female burlesque performers. The project, consisting of photographs and interviews, explores the dancers' personal motivations ?what provokes them and how those motivations inform and define their striptease choreographies?and how those impulses recycle themselves in the dancers' everyday lives.
By definition, the "ultimate reveal" in burlesque refers to the last body part unveiled to the audience at the conclusion of a performance, where even the simplest acts?lowering a pair of sunglasses or popping one last balloon?suggest intimate revelations beyond what meets the eye.
Marie Astrid Gonz?lez Los Angeles-based Photographer and Art Director.
Whether it's the little things that count or the big picture, hand gestures and crooked smiles have been my photography quest: to pursue those defining moments that speak of life's textures and movements. For me, gatherings and events transmit life in its truest form, which has inspired my recent work on the neo-burlesque scene in Los Angeles and bachelorette parties as rites of passage. Both series are long-term photo essays that explore themes of femininity, growth and individual's relationship with the outside world ? all of which speak to my interest in recording the way we shape life, or the way life shapes us?. While my education at the Rhode Island School of Design (BFA, photography) and the University Illinois (MFA, Graphic Design) have influenced my ideas, my consumer-based work as an Art Director for advertising agencies has also played a role in focusing my sensibilities.
