PORTRAITS I is an exploration of masculinity. In traditional portraiture men are encouraged to take ownership of their identity as men, to project confidence and, of course, to banish vulnerability. Their eyes, aware and in control, challenge the gaze of the viewer. What happens when this immediate communication and expression of strength is taken away?
The first two images happened by accident: Nick, one night, at the bar, closed his eyes in a moment of spontaneity as two friends tenderly touched his face. The second captures Jamie in an unguarded moment, eyes closed, his own hands to his face.
The men and boys in the next photographs were invited to pose for a portrait and asked to close their eyes and keep them closed, and that "something would happen". After a few shots, an assistant – who had been secretly assigned the task of placing their hands on the subject’s face – moved in. The results document the men's surprised and intimate contact with another person.
