Eve’s Glory

A Tamboly

Honour from the past, pride from the present

It’s been a hundred years since the“First World War”. The proud women of today demonstrate the prestige of military uniforms of the Second Industrial Revolution until the end of the Weimar Republic. This contrast highlights „Eve’s Glory“.

My name is Tamboly and I’m a Berlin-based photographer. I held numerous solo and group exhibitions throughout the years, the most recent one being the touring „Sony World Photography Awards Exhibition“ and „Communications and Emotions“ in Hartlauer Galerie in Linz. I was among the“200 Best Advertisement Photographers Worldwide 2016/2017” by“Lürzers Archive”.

The project Eve’s Glory earned several international prizes and recognition, among these prizes were: The“Graphis Gold Annual Photography Award 2015” in New York and“Fineart, People Silver Photographer of the Year” by One Eyeland from India.

In my new project, I explore the visual possibility of presenting women in uniforms. I am interested in challenging the conventional ways in which a female is presented in visual arts. Women in the media are usually dressed in a way that speaks naturally to a structure of social expectations characterized by a sharp division between masculinity and femininity. Working in the advertisement industry myself, I see that such a one-dimensional way of presenting women risks failing to capture the real image of women and their needs.

This photo project shows women with the contrast between two different worlds. It deals with unique characters regardless of age, health and origin. Women who fought their ways through life and young ladies who strive for their path. The story that we read in their eyes is the experience that they carry among them.

In this art project, I played with the visual incongruity of women dressed in military uniforms presented in a faithful detailed atmosphere. I prefered to keep their facial features natural and delicate by using dramatic lighting, inspired by the paintings and photographs of that era.

Military uniforms in the history are symbols of heroic and elite social status. The authentic uniforms from several countries, from 1868 until 1930, symbolize the uniform strict system value of this period, which manifested itself in portraits. Atypically this style is broken by fates of each individual and gives the images a new depth to induce the viewer to think, accordingly the target is to create visual imagery that is both real and surreal. Melting away the gender barriers through the integration of women in this masculine world and create space for a new horizon. Inspired by how the role of women has changed until today,i’m questioning if they had this status back then, how would you perceive it and what would it be the outcome?

This project is supported by: National Geographic, Stiftung Stadtmuseum Berlin, Knoblauchhaus Museum, Bezirksamt Steglitz-Berlin (Steglitz-Berlin District Office), Schloss Hotel Berlin, Misfit Models, Schloss Park Oranienburg.