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| Jovial Dragon777 - Subject A301 |
As his name implies, JovialDragon777 has a light-hearted approach to his fantastical situations. In his 'Subject' series, he documents the reactions of men, restrained to face unspecified trials. One involving what looks suspiciously like a hairdrier in the example above. This subject appears to have arrived on a trolley, which is seen folded down while he takes his turn on the cross. He's still standing on the trolley platform.
The whole series has been given a subtle Christmassy flavour, which makes perfect sense in the context of publication during the festive season. However, linking to the season of goodwill will seem a cruel irony during the rest of the year.
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| Jovial Dragon777 - Subject J209 |
The extensive cabling leaves little doubt about the agent of discomfort in this example. The purpose of these trials, ostensibly, is to select and develop a cadre of recruits able to undertake the most demanding of 'missions'. The poster on the wall, bluntly points out the criteria to the latest prospect who is in the process of failing his test miserably.
This artist takes a
great interest in styling, there seems to be a 'Jules Verne' flavour in
the imagery here (as in Hollywood's interpretations of the great author). The Victorian-style, pseudo-scientific underpinning of the exercise is reflected in the assistant diligently making notes at the side. There's a corresponding, low-key element of steam punk in the background detail.
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| Jovial Dragon777 - Subject G888 |
This artist has eclectic tastes and his examinations deal with men of all ages, builds, and skin colours. This is one of my favourites, the strongest of stereotypes, most likely to succeed, you might think. The steel collar certainly fits his persona more than the other subjects here, but he too is about to be presented with his own nemesis. Possibly one not on the official test schedule.
The unusual restraint arrangement, utilising a tilted table, creates a sense of instability for the captive and his struggling makes him seem energetic and defiant, adding a great deal to his character and the drama. The scientific samples in the wall cabinets imply a cold, scientific motivation behind all this, but the behaviour of the lab staff is less objective.
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| Jovial Dragon777 - Subject X001 |
There are presently 19 other pictures in the 'Subject' series in which the artist explores other, more exotic ways of testing a man's mettle. In this case, it's the Tentacled Graspmoor. The X-spread vulnerability of the subject as he 'faces' this challenge, suggests the creature's forte is not so much grasping as probing.
The note taker seems more at risk than him in the image above, but I dare say that the experimenters have a way of drawing the creature to the intended quarry. Perhaps 'scenting' of the target is the purpose of the object in the lead technician's hand, which might otherwise be mistaken for a microphone or babies rattle.
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| Jovial Dragon777 -Autumn Crush 006 |
This artist's back-catalogue is loaded with the usual AI fare of beautiful, muscular men, but his 'Autumn Crush' series is a particularly arty and colourful collection. He makes these models work for their eyeball time, sometimes spicing their poses with humorous, erotic innuendo, as in the double spouted, tea/coffee pot above and the more ambiguous object in the image below.
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| Jovial Dragon777 - Autumn Crush 035 |
There's a delicious vulnerability and neediness in this man that is unexpected in one so remarkably handsome. We find him passively communing with nature and goodness knows what else. The pumpkin stalks seem to be waiting in line for their turn, or maybe it's just excitement.
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| Jovial Dragon777 - SpaceSubs 36 |
Spacesubs is a delicious fantasy featuring men, often characterised as sports men, who have been abducted in a Jules Verne-style spacecraft and find themselves alone with a character dressed in a Venice Carnival mask and little else. Unreality, isolation with a mad man and fear of flying combine to make in a complex fright situation. His anxiety might also be related to being restrained with his sports top still on and nothing down below. It looks like he can rule out being ransomed.
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| Jovial Dragon777 - SpaceSubs 040 |
In much of Jovial Dragon's art, naughtiness is implied but not actually shown. This SpaceSub has clearly had sight of what is in store and it's not table-top soccer. A big, mature man, he's about to have his orbit extended. Unfortunately, the nearest help is thousands of miles away.
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| Jovial Dragon777 - SpaceSubs 017 |
More sinister possibilities are seeded here. The bizarrely masked captor gently touches his subject's back, but since he's dressed in leather fetish regalia, this approach doesn't suggest a cuddle party is pending (even if his leathers are brown).
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| Jovial Dragon777 - SpaceSubs 032 |
I particularly like this hunk, in a similar leather harness, diligently recording the bewilderment of a basketball player who has yet to discover the full range of discomforts available on this vessel. You will observe that the other illustrations suggest there is a whole fleet of Vernsian spacecraft out there, waiting to pounce on subjects of interest.  |
| Jovial Dragon777 - Xibalban Dreams 011 |
In Xibalban
Dreams, we see idealised men elaborately clad in ironmongery,
roaming the mysterious ruins of their ancestors, now engulfed by the forest. Searching for the lost key, perhaps.
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| Jovial Dragon777 - Xibalban Dreams 07 |
The 'noble savage' gets a bad press these days, but shorn of its derogatory colonial connotations, it's an ancestry any man could be proud of. Catastrophe may have overtaken his civilisation, but its crafting skills and impressive genes live on in this survivor.
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| Jovial Dragon777 - Xibalban Dreams040 |
A device like this adorned some beefcake models in the 1950s as photographers sought a sleeker alternative to the dowdy, posing pouch. Their solution was clenched between the cheeks*, this one seems to rely on some other form of support. Possibly internal? A little impractical for the jungle, I would have thought. How would he cope if he was jumped by some sort of forest creature? *See Royale Mechandising post for context
~
Jovial Dragon777 posts at Deviant Art,
more of his work and a link next time
