The birth of “The Body as Temple”
A vintage image, photographed on film, from Jasper Johal’s “The Body as Temple” project
How “The Body as Temple” project was born
Back in the early 2000s I was one of many artists living in the Beachwood area of Hollywood, not far from the iconic sign on the hillside. I spent my days photographing friends who were actors, musicians and dancers, all dreaming of a shot at fame and fortune.
Dancers, in particular, loved to show off their muscular physiques, so I ended up shooting a lot of art nudes. These were shared with the community through art shows in local venues, like coffee shops and night clubs.
For instance, when dancer Madonna Grimes, the queen of hip hop, opened her studio in Hollywood she asked me to do a shoot.
The session, as usual, included tasteful black and white nudes. She selected several photos and turned them into large dramatic black and white prints and hung them all around her studio.
Incidentally, one of the photos from that session, the one with the hat covering her upper face, became her signature photo. She used it everywhere, including on her workout DVD covers.
The Yoga Photographer:
Then around 2003 another of my dancer friends partnered with someone with capital and opened a beautiful yoga studio and spa on Montana Avenue, a very tony neighborhood of Santa Monica.
Around that time yoga was just beginning to go mainstream, and LA was the mecca of it in the US. Some of the best yoga teachers in the country were living in Santa Monica, Venice Beach and Malibu.
My friend asked me to create ads for her new yoga studio to run in a local yoga magazine. (Back then social media was not a thing yet, and all advertising was done in print magazines).
Editors of that yoga magazine loved my photography and I ended up shooting all their covers for the next two years. That is how I became known as the “yoga photographer” in LA.
The rent for the yoga studio was pretty steep, and my friend needed to create buzz to generate traffic.
She was already familiar with my art nudes of dancers, as she had been one of the models. She suggested shooting art nudes of some of the local yoga teachers.
“That will get people talking!” she said, “We’ll stage an exciting art opening in my yoga studio. I’ll get my traffic and you get to show off your art.”
I agreed to her request, and that was the genesis of “The Body as Temple” project!
Once word got around about the art show we were planning, my voicemail quickly filled with yoga teachers wanting to come shoot. In just a month I photographed over two dozen yoga teachers and we had a very fun art show.
Those living in Santa Monica in the early 2000s may remember driving down Montana, past the huge sign hanging on the side of our studio building. It featured a larger than life black and white nude scorpion pose!
My nudes have always been about strength and grace, not salaciousness. Many of the yoga teachers and dancers I have photographed are public figures, and they won’t shoot nudes with anyone else.
I hope you appreciate the personal sense of taste and elegance I try to bring to my work. Please let me know what you think of the images I share here in the Body as Temple Art Club.
Thank you for being a member, and supporting my work!
