The Panty Slap

Where is the sleek woman with perfect make up? Where the empowering shoe shot? Where is that surrealism that Guy Bourdin is known for? Not in this photograph. The viewer is let into the middle of a domestic argument.

The blue of the bathroom tiles recall the colour of the sea, while the body language of the two characters suggests a storm! Blue sky and celestial, the suit of innocence he wears is not enough to veil the truth: this man is clearly guilty. Not even trying to defend himself, he’s put in the corner with his arms down, as if on the naughty step, taking passively the woman’s rage and anger.

Caught in the least graceful position, the woman’s body looks powerful and strong, her hair is down and wild, her body in an outburst of fury. Was she about to get in the bath when he decided to tell her he’s a cheat? Did he let her engagement ring fall down in the sink? Whatever he did, this beauty has become a beast and she is not hiding it.

Dirty laundry, we know, is a symbol of those troubles we had better wash at home and not in public. But the shot reveals a very human pleasure, the voyeurism affecting us when we hear the neighbours having an argument or we are told a shocking secret about someone. The photographer is in fact the intruder in this moment, the teller of a story that is not meant to be told. No one is posing in this photo, there are no flirty looks at the camera, he should not be there. She might be throwing silky knickers and lace g strings by Calvin Klein or La Perla, but all I see is the drama of a moment we all live at least once in life. And he might be wearing the latest Armani Collection suit but what I see in him is the enemy, the man who broke my heart and I want to stand there, shout and throw dirty lingerie at him too.