The paintings in my current series, Pride, explore themes of masculinity and sexual identity. This concept-driven series attempts to pull back the veil from societal tropes of male sexual identity in a celebration of pan-sexual masculinity in all its hetero- and homo-erotic glory. In its stripped-down parade of masculine sexual identities and interactions, the series challenges the viewer with the inexorable power and beauty of the sexual aspect of masculine identity.
In “Pride 1”, there is no denying the sitter’s masculinity. It is up front and centre, in your face, out loud and proud. The figure is strong, confident, and we can admire him for his matter-of-fact approach to his body as he ties his boot. His no-nonsense, capable hands. His readiness to go – he is a man who can be counted on. And yet he is vulnerable, with his most tender parts in full view, within reach. The delicate balance between the brute and the babe, hard-core and soft interior, protector and punisher animates the homo-eroticism of this portrait. We treasure the sitter’s strength, his virility, his complexity, his unabashed vulnerability – in short, we treasure his masculinity. This ballsy approach takes the portrait out of the homo-erotic into the more generally erotic, for all to enjoy.
