Developed over six years, the series Ilmatar chronicles photographer Momo Okabe's pregnancy, which began with in vitro fertilization. This procedure was necessary because, as an asexual woman, Okabe wanted to have a child without sexual intercourse. "I'm not looking to connect with others through this means," she explains. "Since my pregnancy, I find it even harder to accept that so many people get pregnant through sex. I personally hate the male genitalia and perceive sex as something shameful. But I realize that what seems abnormal to me is logical for others, and vice versa. It's a complex concept, constantly evolving." In her images, however, bodies are revealed without modesty, and nudity takes on many forms: eroticism, tenderness, repulsion, or even violence.

Preface by Lou Tsatsas,
main text by Momo Okabe