Two female artists are ?? ?? ??? ??embarking on a rather, um, unusual mission: to collect 1,001 butts. Yes, butts.

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Montreal-based artists Emilie Mercier and Frédérique Marseille are photographing women's backsides in an attempt to celebrate the beauty of the female derrière.

Through the "1001 Fesses" -- or 1001 Bums -- photographic project, they hope to address the insecurities they feel about their bottoms, and explore the way other women feel about their own bodies.

Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

Mercier and Marseille are taking pictures of "all kinds of women...and bums" with a view to creating a "visual poem." They're currently displaying their butt photography on Instagram and their website, but the pair one day hope to turn the photographs into a book.

Mercier and Marseille have been best friends since the age of 12, and -- according to a blog on their website -- have seen their own "bodies change from childhood to adulthood. As their bodies changed, so too did their feelings towards their own bodies. And, both of them developed insecurities about their own behinds. That's why they decided to collect pictures of "all kinds of bums" from women of all ages, in an effort to alleviate those insecurities for themselves and other women.

"Maybe we would discover how crazy it is to hate our own bodies and simply see how unique each and every woman is," reads the blog. "And, this way, start loving ourselves a little bit better." The pair believed that if they saw 1,001 photos of other women's bums, then they'd start to love their own.

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It's not just about the photography for them. They meet each of their subjects in person and talk to them about their relationships with their bodies.

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"We want to reach as many women as we can," Mercier told Mashable. "The encounters we have are the most precious things in this project. We learn a lot about womanhood and we make incredible discoveries about how women feel about themselves."

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The duo have been funding their project through a crowdfunding effort they began in late 2014. Since then they've managed to photograph hundreds of subjects' derrières in Quebec, France, Belgium and Switzerland.

They find their volunteers using a private Facebook group. When the pair have a day off to shoot, they post a shout-out about their location and ask for women in the area to come along to be photographed.

"These pictures are always taken in daylight with a Mamya 645 film camera and we never show faces or identify images," the blog continues.

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A social media project involving nudity doesn't come without its challenges, though.

Back in December 2016, Facebook deleted the 1001 Fesses page -- which had around 6,500 followers -- because of "pornographic content." They've since set up a new Facebook page, and they're attempting to rebuild that community "one open-minded follower at a time."

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Mercier and Marseille hope to raise enough money be able to photograph women's butts in every continent in the world. No mean feat. Together they plan to unveil as many different butts as they can, to show the beauty that lies in women's unclothed bodies.

Love your butts, ladies!

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