‘I heard the most phenomenal stories’: why 500 women over 50 posed nude for a photograph

Three subjects pose for curator Jane Scott and photographer Ponch Hawkes for their 500 Strong project. Photograph: Ponch Hawkes

If she was about to ask hundreds of women to pose naked for her, Ponch Hawkes figured it was only fair she do it too.

In 2018, the Australian photographer was approached by curator Jane Scott with the idea of photographing 500 naked women over the age of 50 for an exhibition that would challenge stereotypes about ageing, titled Flesh After Fifty. So Hawkes convinced Scott to strip off with her and the two posed for a full-body portrait in Hawkes’ studio.