CREATIVE JUICES
Pioneering queer artists and photographers reveal how sex and sexuality influence their work
Queer artists and photographers zoom in on how sex inspires them
As told to Joseph Kocharian
Matt Lambert
Filmmaker, photographer and creative director, Matt Lambert’s work evokes a mesmerising intimacy. Whether he’s shooting celebrities such as Sam Smith and Tilda Swinton or models and porn stars, he creates a fully fleshed- out story that portrays sex and sexuality in unexpected and thought- provoking ways.
Intimate relationships are where I often find the most true version of someone and that’s what interests me. Sexuality can often be a by- product, or a means, of reaching that intimacy.
Each project I do requires a different approach, depending on the scene and the talent. I come from a filmmaking background, so I tend to build scenes rather than stage singular images. However, the way I create an image is very different if I’m shooting a professional performer with lots of experience, versus someone who’s never been in front of a camera before — or whether it’s a project that’s meant to
“There are very few brands pushing the envelope, and the conglomerates that run the brands and the magazines out there are becoming
more prudish”
feel staged or choreographed, as opposed to one that’s documentary.
Regardless of the type of project, making sure there’s a trust between myself, my team and who I’m shooting is crucial and this translates to comfort on set and constant, open communication. It’s always about collaboration and not reducing people to just objects.
Filmmaking is at the core of what I do, but photography continues to become a bigger part of the work I make, as it’s often intertwined with the stories I tell in film, and is by nature a much more immediate medium. It always comes down to creating worlds and telling stories.
My work is about intimacy. Sexually charged imagery isn’t essential to get to the core of someone or to create an intimate moment. Having limitations with someone and not baring all can be a challenge and will often give you a more provocative image.
Early on, I had to work so hard to explain my vision for projects — especially sexually charged ones — as there were so few examples of the kind of work I wanted to make out there. As time has gone on,
people either know my work or I can show them projects that can communicate what I’m after. Ultimately, the kind of people I end up shooting are open- minded and excited by what I do. They tend to be people who can see the larger message or intimacy, free thought and celebration that the work is about.
There’s never one clear way of casting models, since there’s such a range of types and genres of projects every year. I work with film and theatre actors, performance artists, dancers, friends, friends of friends, performers and anyone who’s interesting and liberal.
I get in touch with casting directors, reach out to people online, or have people who are interested in my work reach out to me. I often continue to feature the same people once we find a language together and they become collaborators.
When working with nude or sexual content, people with open minds are ideal. When I work with porn performers, I try to find a way to shoot them that’s less typical to the content they regularly appear in. I want to see them as friends and humans and try to separate them from their performative personas, as well as celebrate the fact that they come with a talent and should also be received as artists and performers.
“Aesthetics without context aren’t provocative — authentic
content is”
Fashion has always embraced iconic characters and there’s definitely some pretty iconic characters in the porn industry, so it makes perfect sense.
I often shoot friends who’ve rarely been in front of the camera and that journey of building a language of trust is also really fun and rewarding.
Despite it being a bit of a ‘ thing’ right now, it generally feels like we are going backward when it comes to sexuality in image- making.
There are very few brands pushing the envelope, and the conglomerates that run the brands and the magazines out there are becoming more prudish as they try to appease the masses.
Aesthetics without context aren’t provocative — authentic content is. Aesthetics are there to support the story you’re telling and that can vary greatly between different stories I tell.
dielamb. com
“My work is about beauty ... anything that fills you with joy or excitement
or curiosity”
Leonardo Corredor
Photographer Leonardo Corredor travels the globe to shoot his muses, bringing out a confidence that might otherwise have remained hidden. He started out as a model, and is never shy about unveiling a revealing self- portrait.
Sex and sexuality play a big role in my life, I have always been curious about that part of me, and other people. To understand, embrace, live, fantasise and enjoy it to the maximum expression, I always intend to celebrate and romanticise it elegantly in my images.
My work is about beauty, and this is a pretty subjective concept. Anything that makes you want to keep looking, or that fills you with joy or excitement or curiosity is beauty to me, so I will never think about the body type or gender of my muses — as long as I find them intriguing and exciting. I have always wished that we lived in a world where nobody had to separate sexualities, because it almost feels like putting one box into another box to me.
Sexy for me means confidence, underwear, a hot male and female couple…
“Being sexual is a need we all possess, and it’s always been
present in art”
Being sexual is an animal need we all possess, and for that reason it’s always been incredibly present in art. I don’t think that we are going through one of the most hyper- sexual generations in fashion right now. There are a few people pushing boundaries, which I always applaud, but it’s nothing compared to what it used to be. If you check out adverts from the 1960s, 1970s, 1990s and early 2000s, you will see some serious sexuality in the ads, and as you might guess, those were my favourite periods. Also, I don’t think we are going through one of the peaks of sexuality in art — just read some of the tales of the ancient Greek Gods.
leonardocorredor. com
Ludovic de Saint Sernin
The current wunderkind of fashion has been pushing all the right buttons with his brand Ludovic de Saint Sernin, which blends masculinity and femininity while celebrating LGBTQ identity.
Sexuality is a huge inspiration for Ludovic de Saint Sernin. Ever since my debut collection — a real coming- of- age story — it has always been part of the language of the brand, whether it takes inspiration from a photograph by Robert Mapplethorpe or even from my own personal life. I like to express it through different mediums, textures, materials and embellishments. The imagery is also crucial in that aspect because it captures sensuality in a way that’s really unique for us as a brand.
A lot of our pieces are meant to be worn by both men and women. When the bra ended up on Malick, one of my favourite male models, it wasn’t meant to be subversive; the feeling was that it looked beautiful on him. With the thongs for guys, the idea is to celebrate the male body and sensuality.
I feel like there really is a place for every type of expression in fashion today, and that’s so important. I think that fashion is able to represent all of us — not that one brand should please everyone — but more that there are different brands that speak to different people, if that makes sense. Expressing your sexuality through clothing is a notion that has been growing recently and one that people are embracing more and more.
The jewellery that we launched for A/ W20 is inspired by the iconography of the brand and stars a “Top” and a “Bottom” celebrating gay culture, but also a “Vers” with a top on one side – you flip it and you find the bottom. It’s fun and playful.
My collection for the Woolmark Prize was definitely the sexiest brand in that selection, and the press and the people who came to the show loved it. But at the end of the day you have to remember that you can’t satisfy everyone, and if you did then you’ve probably lost what made you special in the first place. When I entered the competition I wondered if I should tone it down a bit, and then I thought, actually, that makes no sense; if they wanted me to be a part of it, it is because I do what I do, so I just went for it.
Buyers are catching up. For the first season they wouldn’t even touch the eyelet briefs — they didn’t think they would be commercial — and now they all want a piece of it because they’re selling out. But I don’t think it has become commercial yet. “Sex sells”, like they say, but sexy isn’t for everyone.
Instagram is my favourite platform for sharing my designs — I don’t have Twitter or TikTok yet, but I want to explore these because Instagram has its limits. Limits are good because they give you a context, and that’s great because it’s fun playing with them sometimes. But Twitter has no censorship, which is quite liberating for self- expression.
I don’t like to be provocative. I always want to propose an idea and dare people to try something new but never in a way that is too try- hard. For me, Ludovic de Saint Sernin represents a return to beauty through the lens of sex and sexuality. It has to be a balance between sensuality and elegance. Otherwise you just reveal too much and that’s not so chic. Sexy is all about knowing who you are and what you represent and owning it. There’s nothing sexier than that.
@ ludovicdesaintsernin
“Sexy is all about knowing who you are and what you represent and
owning it”
“As long as humans continue to have sex and explore their sexuality, the two will always
have a place in art”
Portis Wasp
The Scottish mixed- media artist, with a soft spot for Henry Cavill, has made a name for himself re- imagining iconic photoshoots. Portis Wasp, whose collages and video mood boards are often regrammed by A- list celebrities, has collaborated with powerhouse brands such as Moschino, Vman and Love.
Sex and sexuality influence my work a lot. I wouldn’t say I’m looking to make any bold statements with the content I post on my Instagram, but I definitely don’t care for fashion imagery that feels neutered and lacking personality, which is why my work looks the way it does.
I’ve always been inspired by lots of different things, from pop culture to fashion to muscled guys in singlets, so most of the content that appears in my work is just an extension of my personality. I think it’s really important to lean into what excites you as you develop your style, which is why I combine so many different components.
There’s an unspoken element in an image that just speaks to your personality and excites you in a way that is quite special. I don’t think it’s something you plan for when creating imagery, unless you are looking to provoke someone in a very obvious way. For me, it’s about hitting that sweet spot when you’re in the right mood at the right time.
On one level, social media has played a big part in creating a hyper- sexualised landscape that is bold and fun and more inclusive, providing a platform for people who previously didn’t have one, yet a lot of magazines and brands have gone in the complete opposite direction so as not to offend anyone. There is obviously a lot of reasons for this and it’s important that big companies use their platforms responsibly, but I find more and more that imagery is becoming muted to the point where all it is selling me is product.
As long as humans continue to have sex and explore their sexuality, the two will always have a place in art.
@ portiswasp
Ashish Gupta
The king of the sequin, Ashish has been one of the only designers who has championed diversity from the inception of his fashion label, which features LBGTQ slogans and the pride rainbow.
Clothes should be sexy, and sex should be fun. I think dressing up should make you feel good, and having sex should do the same.
This idea informs my work a lot. Rainbow is my favourite colour, and sequins are my favourite material. I like a mix of high and low, trash and luxe. Sequins can often have quite questionable connotations, so I like to use that and make it something aspirational.
Often it feels like gay culture is trying to attain a certain heterosexual approval and respectability. I created the Gaze project to be unapologetic about lust, cruising, hookups, trade, promiscuity, fetishes and sexual desires. I wanted to photograph a wide range of people who were uninhibited about their bodies and their sexuality. Older, younger, people of colour, leather guys, sock fetishists, exhibitionists. I like to think that sexuality is like a playground, and you should feel free to explore the rides.
The irony is that social media censorship has actually highlighted the need for more spaces for sexual expression. I think there is a renewal of queer art going back to print, to physical mediums like books, as with Gaze. Also, there is something much more special about images in books, it’s a feeling of having to delve into our imagination again, to fantasise again. Mindlessly scrolling through videos of mechanical fucking gets quite boring, eventually.
Sites like OnlyFans are now thriving because there is something so much hotter about homemade amateur sex — it feels so much more real and voyeuristic than commercial, studio- made porn. On a side note, when “social distancing” is a thing of the past, and life returns to normal — I hope it will eventually — I look forward to a renewed appreciation and interest in cruising for sex.
Sex and porn and art are intertwined, from the homoeroticism of ancient Greek pottery to the erotic sculptures at the temples of Khajuraho in India, to Shunga paintings from Japan. The orgasmic expression of Bernini’s
The Ecstasy of St. Theresa is just one of the many examples of so much smuggled sexuality into Western classical art. One of my favourite poems, Goblin Market, by Christina Rossetti is really just a thinly veiled cautionary tale about the dangers of sex in repressed Victorian times.
All of Madonna’s best work is about sex and sexuality. Tom of Finland is art, and so are Jean
Daniel Cadinot’s early porno films. @ Ashish @ gazebyashish
“There is a renewal of queer art going back to print, to physical
mediums like books”
Rufskin
Douglas Coats and Hubert Pouches have been crafting their Californian brand Rufskin since 2002. Through their own designs or collaborations, such as with Tom of Finland, they’ve proudly pioneered sexuality as a central part of their brand since the very beginning.
Rufskin was created around the fact that there was a lack of sexy denim for men. Our first collections were focused on a new cut and emphasising the body. From low rise to “butt cleavage” to zipped crotches, we created a jeans line that opened a new market. The swimwear and underwear followed right after and defined the DNA of the brand. Our influences were Brazil, California in the 1970s,
“There is a fine line between erotic and pure sex and we try to keep that distance without censoring
ourselves”
and artists like Tom of Finland and his sexy, masculine artwork. Throughout the years we kept the same vibe and followed the changes in our community, keeping diversity in mind while staying true to our brand at the same time.
It has been almost 20 years since we created the brand. Our images were often censored back then — including in Attitude! The excuse being that other advertisers would be shocked or “unhappy” with our images, even though we’ve always kept a distance between sensuality and vulgarity. Today, mainstream magazines have nudity and the “VPL” is common. There is a fine line between erotic and pure sex and we always try to keep that distance without censoring ourselves.
Sex appeal is part of the brand. The cut of the pieces are the most important focus for us. New constructions and new fabrics are what we use to bring each collection together and push sex appeal forward. We would like to promote a healthy, self- confident image to empower our customer.
Being LGBTQ is part of our lives — Douglas and I are celebrating 30 years together this year. However, I don’t like to limit our work to one community. Sexual orientation should not define who you are. Inclusion should be the norm. Why limit yourself to one or the other, masculine or feminine? How boring would it be to restrain yourself? We would like to provide clothes that fit your state of mind and the way you feel when you decide to put them on. There is the same DNA in each one of them. Jock or thong, low crotch or ball hugger, tight spandex or a flowy top. It’s about who wears them and how they wear them. We don’t make clothes to mould people; we want them to express themselves with it. We are living in one crazy world right now, let’s make it better and sexier with freedom and no taboos.
rufskin. com