I must admit - when I first opened up Diana Thorneycroft's book, The Body, Its Lesson and Camouflage, I thought the images had come from the mind of someone a little disturbed. More than that - I had very little clues as to what the heck the work was about.

For most people, I think, Thorneycroft's work is more than a little hard to "get". Looking through the book before the interview, I was confronted with images of the artist's naked body, surrounded by manipulated dolls, toy guns, paper masks and plastic phalluses. I thought to myself, "How in the world am I going to interview this woman? We don't speak the same language." I couldn't have been more wrong.

Diana is a soft spoken, unassuming woman with a wonderful sense of humour. As she talked openly and honestly about her experiences growing up, I recognized how typical her experiences are. Most of us have had periods of feeling alienated, sexually confused or isolated - especially in our youth. Most of us have long buried those memories. Diana reconstructs them.

There is something about her work that strikes a definite chord with viewers. Having provoked a huge range of reactions - from critical acclaim to death threats - Thorneycroft seemed strangely…calm and well adjusted. Her photographic sets are like her playground - where she is able to release images that exist in her brain

Thorneycroft honestly doesn't see her work as particularly dark or disturbing. Although I still wouldn't necessarily want one of her photos hanging over my bed, I now recognize the beauty in the work, as well as in the artist.

Cynthia Loyst
Segment Producer, SEXTV