Rex - Clamped
Slightly out of
alphabetical sequence we arrive at Rex, whose accomplished hand has
graced our fetish world for 30 years or more. Having said that, you
won't find much S&M play in his pictures, this clamp picture, in
which you can feel the pain of those vicious devices, is a relatively
unusual subject for him. The dark, pointillistic style is Rex's
trademark. The subtle depiction of the abdominal muscles and veined
arms is marvellous. His pictures are always full of interesting
details, like the stylised backswept hair and the gleaming ring of
the screw clamp.
Rex - Traffic Patrol
Rex's men owe
something to Tom of Finland, like these cops with their square jaws
and fleshy lips (maybe a touch of Etienne too in the snub nose). The
Mohican-styled street yob fouling the pavement and due for a comedown also
has echoes in Tom's later work but it's the man in the shadows who is
true Rex with unkempt hair, pugilistic nose and smoking cigarette in
his hand, rough and dirty, probably with sexual manners to match.
This atmospheric composition is much more sophisticated than Tom's
work but has the same story-telling power, your imagination can run
riot visualising what will happen next. Rex's pictures look
completely different to Tom's because of his style and use of
dramatic close-up.
Search out copies of his pictures which have not
been 'sharpened' by those collectors who don't like the 'fuzzy' appearance
- it destroys the feel of the picture.
Rex - Lickin'
Rex's pictures
typically show sleazy, sexual encounters in rough and ready settings.
Leave the gymnastics aside here and you can almost smell the odours
of lust and sex in this encounter and you just know those uplifted
socks are pretty smelly too. The incidental detail - torn vest,
tattoos, stubble, cigarettes, beer can and glimpse of jockstrap in
the draw all create a powerful sense of masculinity let loose. The
backgrounds are equally precise but sometimes it's maddeningly
unclear what exactly they are. Sometimes the perspective appears
flattened, creating a crowded, compressed and claustrophobic effect.
Rex - Cubicles
This
sense of intimacy and claustrophobia is also expressed in a group of
pictures which show men in box-like settings, like adjacent hotel
rooms, cubicles in toilets or the infamous steam baths. This idea is
borrowed from the movies, the parallel activities are private and yet
not private, separate yet shared, it's like a deconstructed orgy, but
it's only us that get the grandstand view as voyeurs. There's some
nice drawing in these miniatures, the uncertain expressions on their
faces make it curiously erotic.
Rex - Hotel Rex
This
picture springs from the same inspiration as the cubicles series. In
a sleazy hotel room a biker kneels and feasts on the sweaty,
sock-clad feet of a tough-looking sailor who reclines patiently, in
control and already up for more. The vial in the biker's hand is
probably poppers pointing up the intensity of his moment.
In the
mirror we see the mysterious reflection of a second, younger sailor
who looks just out of the shower. It's not clear if he's
disinterested, shocked or maybe he's just bored waiting his turn. He
could even be looking at a fourth unseen man.
The characterisation of
the three men is all quite distinct and sexy in different ways and
the detailing of the sleazy, hotel room is just astonishing - note
the two toothbrushes telling us that two men (presumably the sailors)
share this room.
Rex - Operation
Medical fetish art
is something of a rarity so I had to include this group of authentic
looking doctors carrying out a highly unorthodox operation on a
captive, gagged patient. Not for the faint of heart, perhaps, the
surgeon is literally weighing up his options, but it's a logical, if
nightmarish, extension of the Doctors and Nurses control fantasy. Rex
has a penchant for going just a bit too far!
In this picture, the
patient's anatomical proportions are not strictly observed - he has
rather short legs. Oddities like this occur in other Rex pictures too
(see lickin' above). It's surprising given his sophisticated
technique and carefully crafted detail and suggests to me that
passion sometimes plays a major part in the creation process.
Rex
- Pay Before Pumping
Finally, a fairly
well-known picture that combines great artistic technique with off
the wall fetish. The young grease monkey's mouth is held open by
metal tubing stuffed down his throat. It looks to me like a petrol
pump nozzle or a bike exhaust fitting but I don't mind being
corrected on that - see comments below. What's indisputable is that he's being forced to
drink body fluids mixed with goodness knows what residues from the
improvised funnel. The dramatic lighting and amazing snatches of
incidental detail (have you ever seen bollock gooseflesh depicted
before?) make this a memorable and highly erotic image.
~
~
I don't need to
talk up Rex, his artistic credentials speak for themselves. His
fetish imagery, full of subtle nastiness and power plays between men,
is always exciting and interesting. There are two further important
areas of his work concerning animals and intergenerational
relationships which I have not discussed here because I don't feel
they are appropriate subjects for this blog. However, I will say that
his slant on these two taboo subjects is worth investigating.
His
work takes a bit of finding. He now has his own a site at
Rexwerk with some examples. There is also a collection at
Delftboys (if you can penetrate the maze) and as always Pax's GMBA archives (see
sidebar for link) are a rich resource.
For
other articles in this series click on the A-Z label below or use the
search box to find a specific artist
