Tattoos, piercings and contortionists: inside Matilda Temperley's Human Zoo

Self-styled "exploratory photographer" Matilda Temperley has hunted down some unorthodox types to fill her Human Zoo.

Temperley takes stylised portraits of people from all walks of life, from contortionists and transgender modification artists, to those tattooed with more colours than a peacock's plume.

Exploring themes that span ethnographic studies from the 15th century to modern-day freak shows, Temperley's work is a sensitive, and at times confrontational, look at subjects who often exist in marginalised societies.

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"I have always admired the bravery of mavericks who are comfortable to sit outside society's norms. This exhibition is as much about the viewer's reaction the subjects as it is about the subjects themselves," Temperley says.

Human Zoo goes on show at the Wilmotte Gallery, Lichfield Studios, London from tomorrow until 18 May; www.matildatemperley.com