Here's how an independent photo project, Fierce is exploring stories about women through sport 

Thirty-four-year-old Akhila who is also a sustainability consultant started the project a couple of weeks ago and already has 22 photos on her Facebook page of the same name
Fierce
Fierce

In an attempt to explore stories of women through sport, city photographer Akhila Vijaya-raghavan has kickstarted a project called Fierce — an independent social photography project which focusses on exercise, body image, women and personal safety. Posing in their element, these monochrome photos tell the stories about womanhood in ways which are empowering, disruptive and liberating. Go through the photos and you’ll find a sea of information about women, shot over a span of a year (in Chennai and Bengaluru) who have beaten all odds to prove their mettle.

There’s Akshith Thimmaiah from Chennai, who is a microbiologist, running coach and a personal trainer. Popular Chennaiite Rohini Rau who is a sailor, TED fellow and global shaper also features in the project. Jennifer Christa from Chennai on the other hand is a motorcycle racer, automobile engineer and a gamer and Aishwarya Manivannan practises Silambam and is an artist.  Thirty-four-year-old Akhila who is also a sustainability consultant started the project a couple of years ago and already has 22 photos on her Facebook page of the same name. “I wanted to understand the commitment that women make towards their bodies and their minds by putting their own health first,” she says, adding that it is in the nature of sport to push a person to their physical limits.

“Whether one is a professional athlete or a casual sportsperson, aspiring to go beyond what your body is capable of shows us that all limits exist only in the mind. Fierce is a series that attempts to tell these stories.” It’s not just physical expectations that Akhila focuses on. She has heard harrowing stories of depression, eating disorders and body dysmorphia, and says that in a way the project inspires her to tell more stories, and her own as well.

“With Fierce, I would like more women of various backgrounds, sports and job profiles to get involved.” Also on the list are Chennai-based squash player Ashita Bhengra, break dancer Ranjitha Snoopy, Kirti Katherine Kabeer who is a bharathanatyam dancer and Oncoplastic trainee, Aloka Dsouza a footballer and fashion designer and Smita Komini, a skateboarder from Bengaluru. Akhila hopes that the photographs can become a part of an exhibition some day, so that more people know stories about women and endurance.


The photo series can be viewed on Facebook.
 

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