When a photography project asked 21 students to pose clothed and nude for exhibit, it exposed more than just a little extra skin.

Mariana Arjona-Soberón ’13 and Ric Hernandez ‘11 debuted their photo exhibit, “Under Our Skin – An Exploration of Gender and Identity,” in the African American House at 7 p.m. Thursday evening. Arjona-Soberón and Hernandez’s exhibit consisted of 21 subjects, both male and female, each posing in one clothed and one nude photograph.

“We wanted to show people in all varieties and capture the different ways a person can exist,” said Arjona-Soberon. “It shows the transformation between our reality and our social reality.”

Creative director Arjona-Soberón said she conceived the project last March, and Hernandez shot the photographs this semester. The exhibit also included a slideshow of models with brief audio clips. The creators included themselves in the project. “I’m a coherent contradiction,” Arjona-Soberón said in the recording that went with her own photos.

Creative director Mariana Arjona-Soberón ’13 said she gave the subjects little to no direction of what to wear, how to pose or what to say.

This project is about immersion,” said Hernandez. “We wanted to have people more accessible and give a more comprehensive view of others might be.”

The project was funded by the Sudler Fund, the African American Cultural Center, and the Trans/Gender Awareness Week group. It will be on display through November 9th.