Second Spring of the Faithful Man

These portraits of non-professional male models of all ages and walks of life were shot in my St Leonards-on-Sea studio during Summer and Fall of 2023. After a series of portraits of teenagers facing climate change issues in 2021 and a recent collection of self-portraits on grief and trauma in 2022, I challenged myself to unapologetically capture the beauty of the men and the natural world around me in East Sussex. Inspired by the Pre-Raphaelites, who saw beauty and nature as an antidote to the Industrial Revolution, I wanted to explore modern masculinity, with its challenges and vulnerability. I was surprised at the amount of men who were up for participating in the project, from close friends to total strangers. Most of them were straight men, often married or in a relationship, yet they immediately understood the complexity and playfulness of being momentarily objectified, the way women have been for centuries in art. I’m hoping that these photos can give a glimpse into today’s complex and shifting relationship men have with their own image. My aim here is to find a sense of beauty and faith in the realm of art, with all its mysteries and contradictions.