Other Kinds of Pleasures

On the gaze of a pervert

Added 2022-07-03 16:27:12 +0000 UTC

When I stood there naked, I felt powerful. There is definitely a correlation which exists for me: I always say, I’d gladly walk around topless if it was socially acceptable. It’s both about my intimate connection to my flesh – and the way it intimidates people by simply existing.

Nudity is often perceived as vulnerability and softness, something to be regarded and consumed. The relationship of (especially female) nudity to power and dominance is something I wanted to explore on a shoot we did with Ottilie Landmark (with my favourite good boy in full latex). For some of it, I was in full rubber – but this shot felt special. When I look at it, it’s not really me as a person, but an embodiment of a broader conversation on the relations between nudity, gender and power in the history of art. I’m like women in these grand historical nudes in museums, forever staring into space – or staring back at the viewer.

This photograph belongs to Ottilie’s ongoing project which explores the mental states and liminal spaces of submission, dominance and fetishism, and the complex nature of human sexuality. It employs voyeurism to challenge the mainstream representation of kink, usually portrayed as a marginalised practice defined by outsiders gaze - here, the viewer ends up being observed instead. It made me think of the pervert’s perspective, the pervert’s gaze – and what would it be like in art, sexually and politically.