8 Ball
04 January 2024
Laura Hollyman leans against a pool table with a cue balanced in one hand, her pink long-sleeve crop top and matching cycling shorts turning the games room into a candy-coloured editorial. Her dark brunette hair falls in thick, glossy waves well past her elbows, her blue eyes are lined and smoky, and a swipe of cherry red on her lips gives her the look of a fifties heartbreaker in modern sportswear. Black high-top Converse anchor the outfit in something real and youthful, and the red baize behind her, scattered with coloured balls, makes the pink pop like neon. 8 Ball is the kind of set where you know the rules are about to be rewritten from the opening shot.
Laura hauls herself onto the table, lying on her side across the felt with her Converse kicked up behind her and the cue resting beside her like a prop in a music video. The pink top inches upward to show the heavy underside of her chest, and by mid-set it has been discarded entirely, the cycling shorts following close behind. She kneels naked on the red baize, gathering her dark mane above her head with one hand, the warm lamplight picking out the shape of her waist and the sweep of her hips. It is a gloriously irreverent use of a pool table, and Laura plays the scene with the kind of wide-eyed mischief that makes you forget anyone ever used it for an actual game.