For A New Kind Of Beauty, London-based photographer Phillip Toledano photographs individuals who have invested in numerous plastic surgeries, some of whom have gained national celebrity for their appearances.
Toledano, inspired by the 16th century painter Hans Holbein, is drawn to the sculptural, highlighting the sensuous curves of the body in luscious reds, blacks, and creamy nudes. “In some ways I think that the subjects of [A New Kind of Beauty] are the vanguard of human evolution,” the photographer says. “Twenty years ago tattoos and piercing were considered fringe at best, outlandish at worse. And now they’re both quite mainstream. I think that in 40 or 50 years, when plastic surgery is cheap and prevalent, what it means to look human may be very different from what it means to look human today.”