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Skin Deep

GoopGallery presents Skin Deep, a collection of eighteen digital photographs by five international photographers curated by Daniel Jimenez for public viewing online via Tumblr March 21, 2021 – April 1, 2021. The collection features Ricky Day, Te Rawhitiroa Bosch, Dnyaneshwar Prakash Vaidya, Vianney Le Caer, and Pieter Hugo. Photographs of men from the United States of America, Aotearoa, India, Lebanon, and Mexico comprise the collection creating a narrative rooted in the various racial, cultural, religious, social, and political practices both influencing and affecting the lives of BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) around the world. The collection is a snapshot of how masculine identities express themselves via the display of skin and how nudity plays a component in how black and brown bodies shatter society’s perceptions.

In the United States of America, Ricky Day photographed young African American men to dissect the “All-American” look popularized by fashion labels such as Ralph Lauren and Abercrombie & Fitch. Day’s portraits combine commercial and fashion photography to prompt viewers to reconsider black male and queer identities within the narrative of the U.S. American culture and affluent designer brands. Day styles and undresses his subjects to emphasize the need for inclusivity of black men in society affected by racism and colorism [1]. 

In Aotearoa (New Zealand), Te Rawhitiroa Bosch photographed Maori people to document along the shores of Waitangi the launch of the ancestral war canoe, Ngatokimatawhoarua. The paddlers participate in this eighty-year tradition that has preserved the kaupapa or set of values, principles, and Maori plans for many generations. Portraits of Maori men also reveal the importance of ta moko or tattoos which adorn the skin. The most important ta moko reside on the head, which is the most sacred part of the body and signifies a high social status [2].

In India, Dnyaneshwar Prakash Vaidya photographed portraits and action shots of men participating in kushti, a form of wrestling that worships the body. Maharajas or great rulers such as King Shri Chatrapati Shahu Maharaj popularized mud-clay wrestling in 1894. The monarch organized tournaments for men of all ages to participate in this tradition. Wrestlers must always remove their clothes and shoes before stepping foot into the arena. They live together, have very few possessions, practice more than six times a week, and begin their training as early as 3:30 am. The majority of the wrestlers are impoverished, and many participate for an opportunity to obtain a government job and financial security for themselves and their families [3].

In Lebanon, Vianney Le Caer photographed male sunbathers along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea. Many of the men are Muslim, speak Arabic, and socialize daily under the hot sun. They pray in their bathing suits, shave, smoke, apply sunscreen, and flex their muscles for the camera. Not far from this seaside location are refugee camps for people fleeing Daesh, a 21st-century militant Islamist organization active in Syria and Iraq. The sunbathers participate in a social act of camaraderie that is taboo due to the act of praying while unclothed. Their actions may be deemed sacrilegious by neighboring organizations that consider Beirut’s multi-faith system too progressive and unacceptable [4].

In Mexico, Pieter Hugo photographed people of all ages to explore notions of the relationship between sex, mortality, and traditional aesthetics. He titled his collection of images La Cucaracha, after the folk song of a five-legged cockroach popularized during the colonial Revolution in Mexican history. In the desert region of Hermosillo, Hugo photographed a man holding an albino snake wrapping around his leg. The snake is a symbol of the delicate balance between life and death, alluding to the many graveside rituals, festivals, and rites of passage in Mexican culture. The older man wearing a white hat embodies the performative and visually rich aesthetics of Mexican portraiture. His hat is a symbol of Mexican culture, and the absence of clothing is the portrayal of sensuality and the embodiment of a characterization. The portrait of a young man under the hot Sonoran sun reveals his bronze and tattooed skin bathed by the glaring light of midday. His eyes radiate as intensely as the arid desert while seeking protection from the narco-state and violence that runs rampant. In some parts of Mexico, it is common to see dismembered bodies hanging from the side of highways, a gruesome sight resulting from drug wars and cartels claiming the lives of many [5].  

[1] https://blackartmatters.com/artists/Ricky_Day/ 

[2] https://www.instagram.com/p/CC0Gx4fAiVk/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link 

[3] https://121clicks.com/photo-stories/kushti-indian-wrestling-by-dnyaneshwar-prakash-vaidya 

[4] https://www.vice.com/fr/article/jppqn3/avec-les-bronzeurs-de-beyrouth-vianney-le-caer

[5] https://www.1854.photography/2020/04/la-cucaracha-pieter-hugo/ 

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Ricky Day 

Scott, 2012

from All Black Kings Go To Heaven series 

U.S.A. 

digital photograph 

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Ricky Day 

Brian, 2012

from All Black Kings Go To Heaven series 

U.S.A. 

digital photograph 

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Ricky Day 

Untitled, 2012 

from All Black Kings Go To Heaven series 

U.S.A.

digital photograph 

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Te Rawhitiroa Bosch

Untitled, 2020

from Kaupapa Maori series

Waitangi, Aotearoa (New Zealand)

digital photograph

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Te Rawhitiroa Bosch 

Travis, 2017

from Te Whare Hukahuka series

Aotearoa (New Zealand)

digital photograph

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Te Rawhitiroa Bosch  

Untitled, 2017 

from Te Whare Hukahuka series 

Aotearoa (New Zealand) 

digital photograph 

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Dnyaneshwar Prakash Vaidya 

Untitled, 2017

from Kushti series 

Kolhapur, India

digital photograph 

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Dnyaneshwar Prakash Vaidya

Untitled, 2017 

from Kushti series 

Kolhapur, India

digital photograph 

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Dnyaneshwar Prakash Vaidya 

Untitled, 2017 

from Kushti series 

Kolhapur, India 

digital photograph