Time takes its toll on us all. To illustrate this point, the British photographer Polly Penrose embarked on an ambitious project entitled A Body of Work, the Huffington Post reports. Over a seven year period, the photographer took nude pictures of herself in an array of poses and settings to document the physical transformations she had undergone.

On her website Penrose describes the project, explaining that it was “often a fight to ‘fit in,’ to become a part of that space.” She adds that “The process of taking the pictures is punishing. It leaves me bruised and aching. Every picture is taken on self-timer, which makes for a repetitious, highly physical process of running between the camera and the pose, making adjustments as I go. It feels like I’m hammering my body into the landscape of the room, one picture at a time.”

Whilst the photographer’s physical changes are quickly spotted, the emotional changes remain concealed, she told the Huffington Post, “While I never intended it to be the case, over the years the photos have become a kind of diary of my experiences and emotions … But this aspect is mine, it’s hidden from the viewer, which I kind of love. It’s my own private experience of the work.”