"Did your boyfriend beat you?" "Did you wash the rest of the paint off your face?" "You have your lipstick all over." These are just some of the comments received by the subjects of Copenhagen-based professional photographer Linda Hansen's recent photo series, titled Nevus Flammeus. Also known as port-wine stain, nevus flammeus is a congenital vascular malformation that causes birthmarks ranging in color from light rose to dark red. Staring at somebody with this condition would be considered rude if you saw them out on the street, but Hansen's portrait photography encourages you to stare in order to force the viewer to see the facial features and the person behind the birthmark.
"I want to make a confrontation," Hansen told Feature Shoot. "How long do you have to look? When do you start to see the other details in the photo? The nose or that the clothes are sitting a little wrong. All the small details are really important. When you have looked enough at these beautiful people, the mark doesn't become interesting anymore. I compare it to having a tattoo: It's curious, or a special mark with history. It's unconventional beauty. How come when you have a mark with nature, this is not OK?"
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More info: Linda Hansen (h/t: Feature Shoot)
