When Wisdom is Beautiful – Rhonda Stove’s 40+ Wise Women Project
On the surface Rhonda Stove’s 40+ Wise Women Project is both a brilliantly emotive marketing campaign and a creative way to attract business, yet it is also an ode to the collective power and beauty of mature womanhood. The project is ‘a celebration of all women aged 40 and above. A chance to tell us your story, share your insights, courage and beauty.’
In their early fifties themselves, Rhonda Stove and her assistant Genevieve Bannock are well aware of the way older women are either invisible or visually ‘devalued’ and this photographic portrait series is pushback against the narrow focus of society’s youth-obsessed lens.
‘When I launched the 40+ Wise Women Project just as Covid hit in 2020,’ Rhonda explains, ‘it was initially 50+ and Fabulous, but so many women a decade younger wanted to be a part of this, that it soon switched to the 40+ Wise Women Project.’
Some of the backstories behind the images are shocking – from the fight against breast and pancreatic cancers, to the pain of marriages unravelling and the trauma of sexual abuse. ‘Most of our ladies are at a pivotal turning point in their lives,’ she explains. ‘But ultimately, the project is empowering because the women have made it through these experiences. Actually, it is an empowering process for all of us because we get to help them tell their story,’ Rhonda affirms.
Each client signs up for a three-step process – Consultation, Photographic Session and a Reveal. ‘For just under $400 but with a real value of $700, it is a full-service, luxury package that includes pampering all the way,’ Rhonda says. At the consult, Rhonda and Genevieve sit down with each client and get to know them. Rhonda’s many years as a hairdresser (before RSI and a temporary loss of feeling in her hands forced her to close down her salon) and her work with animals, particularly horses, means she has an innate ability to read people and gain their trust. Genevieve, a trained stylist who has worked for years dressing disadvantaged women for the not-for-profit Dress for Success, knows the importance of respecting the individual.
‘By the end of the consult, we’re all friends. We emphasise that the studio is a safe haven where the client can relax and be their truest selves. Every client is very individual and they are never forced into any look or style that they are not comfortable with,’ Genevieve explains.
Many women don’t know how they want to look while others know exactly what they want. Frilly, feminine, exotic, suggestive, sultry, wholesome, Rhonda has a wardrobe to raid, props to coordinate and metres of fabric to manipulate. The actual session, which takes a full day and can include up to six changes, sounds more like fun dress-ups, with Genevieve providing a full hair and make-up makeover. ‘When you do hair and make-up and a woman is wearing a special dress or fabric that is draped beautifully, it really helps with self-esteem. This newfound confidence carries them through the session,’ Rhonda says. ‘Because everyone tends to dislike something about themselves, there is only one studio rule and that is that no woman is allowed to say even one mean thing about themselves.’ Genevieve adds, ‘We don’t see ourselves as others do. When our clients view the images at the Reveal, there are lots of tears and comments like, “I’ve never had a beautiful photo of myself.”’
And the photos are undeniably beautiful. As Rhonda says, ‘Fine Art Photography is at the opposite end of the spectrum to lifestyle snaps.’ It is all about posing as an art form and creative props and sets. It’s about attention to detail and atmospheric lighting and creating darker, richer images redolent of the Old Masters. All 40 portraits will be done in the studio so Rhonda is not at the mercy of the elements and can guarantee a consistency throughout the project. She is at the halfway mark and has given herself another year to complete the project.
As for the experience, so far, Genevieve reveals, ‘The best thing for me about being part of this is that I am doing what I love with colour, clothes and styling to help women see themselves in a different light and feel valued.’ For Rhonda, the highlight she admits is meeting such strong, inspiring women. ‘We have made some amazing friendships and I am honoured and humbled that these women open up, open their hearts and allow the camera in.’
To apply and find out more, visit www.rhondastove.com.
