The combination of a steely, unflinching gaze and a hell of a lot of hot pink makes this striking image by Belgian photographer Bieke Depoorter impossible to ignore. This is one of many photographs from Depoorter’s series Agata, named after the subject that the photographer had met one night in Paris. “I was wandering around at night to find someone: people I feel attracted [to] and inspired by, people that could help me to tell my story—a story that would be partially theirs as well. This is how I found Agata,” says Depoorter. The pair met at the strip club where Agata was working, and Depoorter ended up shooting her at various Paris locations to form a collection of arresting images that “walk a thin line between documentary and fiction”. The photograph is one of the pieces to be displayed at The Body Observed: Magnum Photos exhibition running from 23 March to 30 June at the Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts.
