Photographers in Perth (PIP) is a community of amateur and professional photographers in Perth formed through Flickr, an online photo-sharing community (www.flickr.com). There are over 400 members that include photographers from Perth, regional WA, and even expatriate West Australian photographers in Victoria, NSW and overseas. Visit the PIP online community at www.flickr.com/groups/perth_photo or the PIP website at www.photographersinperth.net.

Featuring the creative photography of members of the "Photographers in Perth" (PIP) community, the images in Dare to Bare explore a range of ideas, emotions and questions through the representation of the nude human form. More than just pictures of people without clothing, Dare to Bare is an exhibition of photographs that are profound, emotional, beautiful, funny, wry and oddball.

The nude has been a mainstay in art for millennia - from the earliest rock paintings, the sculptures of the ancient Greece and Rome; Michaelangelo and da Vinci's works in the Italian Renaissance and Ruben's voluptuous nudes from the Baroque, to the confronting and often ground-breaking works by the likes of Lucien Freud and Robert Mapplethorpe in the 20th century.

In photography, as much as in any art form, the nude often takes the position of the passive, static subject, the object to be seen, examined, admired, in stark contrast to the photographer's (and by default, the viewer's) more active role in composing the subject within the frame in order to create the image.

In Dare to Bare, Photographers in Perth members are challenged to photograph the nude (whether self-portraiture or a model) in ways that present the nude as more than just a passive object or a bared body. Through interplay of pose, lighting, framing, props and even motion blur, these photographers use the nude figure to draw our emotions or raise questions about their subjects. The title itself is symbolic of this theme: in these images, the photographers have dared to bare more than just the exposed skin of their subjects; the images reveal the complex web of emotions inherent in the human condition and challenge us to confront them.

Most images in the exhibition will be available for sale. A price list will be available at the exhibition, and one will also be released on this site once the exhibition launches.

The exhibition is held at the KURB Gallery located at 310, William Street, Perth. The Gallery is located on the Eastern side of William Street, in the section between its intersections with Newcastle and Aberdeen St. The map below indicates the location of the gallery on William Street, Perth.

Street parking is available along William St, Brisbane St, Newcaste St, Aberdeen St and Francis St. Alternatively, the gallery is a short, pleasant stroll from car parks at the corner of William and Aberdeen, and the State Library under cover car park.

For further information about the exhibition, please contact the exhibition coordinator, Nikki Mauri, at:

• Email: nikkimauri@excite.com

• Mobile: 0424 950 555

Dare to Bare is proudly sponsored by: