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| Inspection |
There's a mysterious, dungeon-like atmosphere in this image. A muscular stud is secured in a pillory device. His rear end is being examined by a much bigger man, wearing a ritualistic mask.
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| Crated, Trained |
Another image of trapped muscularity. This man's collar is a mark of his status. The uncompromisingly strong iron gate that contains him shows respect for his strength but neutralises it.
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| Sub2 |
This artist looks at the more arcane activities of leathermen at play. This piggybacking harks back to archaic practices of servants transporting their masters around.
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| Focus |
'Focus' by this artist depicts the notion of service in a more conventional manner, with a chained slave on his knees about to worship his Master's prized possession.
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| Exposed |
In this image, the artist depicts masculine power of a different sort, with the subject's flamboyant hair and lean physique suggesting streetwise wiliness and earthiness. He confidently removes his clothes in a public toilet. Anonymity is the custom here, and that gives power and freedom.
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| Support |
This picture of a man loitering, brazenly naked, in a public alleyway is simple but powerful. Presumably it's a place that he knows will only be frequented by other men who will appreciate his seductive display. He offers himself but his boldness will intimidate some.
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| Windows |
This image seems to show a more organised and intense approach to the same transaction. Rent boys gather at an open window, not just showing their beautiful bodies, but projecting lust and sexual challenge. There's a slightly demonic cast to their expressions that suggests danger lurks within, despite the lure of sexual availability.
There are historical precedents to this imagery
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| Three |
You might sense a more clandestine demon lurking in this image. A man whose dark looks and personality seems to have brought him a pair of admirers jockeying for his attention. He encourages them both with a hint of pleasure to come, but they are not the focus of his attention. He is calculating.
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| Surrender 2 |
This image (possibly by a different artist) combines the two themes of dungeons and demons. It also seems to express two extremes of desire. A young man with a (possibly naive) interest in the black arts of S&M is being overwhelmed by a hardened expert. His bite condemns the young experimenter into a lifetime in his thrall.
This scenario suggests a more believable interpretation of who seduced whom in the garden of Eden by taking a bite of the juicy offering.
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| Devil's Due |
The title of this dramatic, demon piece suggests it is the inevitable price of bartering with the devil, but there is a sense of naive innocence in the young man's carefully trimmed beard. I suspect some of the toughened characters in this artist's work might see this as a romantic seduction, albeit one that lays bare the pecking order, as it were. Even this celebrant seems to be ecstatic rather than chastened.
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| Cave Troll |
The same cannot be said of the hero in this image, which seems to celebrate the disillusionment of good intentions. This Knight Adventurer had no doubt set out hoping to do good by slaying some demons and monsters. Instead, he ends up getting stripped of his protective armour by one and getting the rough end of his stick. He doesn't seem too comfortable with this outcome.
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| Damned |
The title and soaring gothic background here seems to express the conventional, religious interpretation of demons being the agents of eternal, unspeakable punishment. Looking at the damned man's face, though, you can't help thinking it's all rather tongue in cheek. He seems to be not so much suffering, as savouring it to the full. His body language suggests willingness, too.
But it's still unspeakable as it happens.
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| Dark Desires |
The title of this, similar image recognises better the dilemma of pleasure and punishment. The spikes in the background and suggestion of caging widen the options for both. The devil is bigger here, his hands gripping the human and firmly holding him down. It's a particularly explicit expression of the domination which pervades this artist's work. We can't see how the devil's 'victim' feels about this, just that he's braced himself. Damned if you do and damned if you don't, you might say
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| Home Grown |
This murky image also seems rather like a depiction of damnation, but the title suggests a Sci-Fi creation scenario. Despite the foetal position and umbilical connections the fledgling seems remarkably well-developed, tattoos and all, and yet he's still dependent and controlled, so it's not such a different subject after all.
There's some clever assembly of imagery to create this storyline
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'Interface', another picture by this artist that I've posted at 'X' seems to blend Sci-Fi and horror. It shows another, attractive, young man being overpowered by skeletal robots with glowing skull eyes.
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| Tight End |
What a great backside! The pun in the title of this picture is not new, butt I don't think I've seen it illustrated so precisely or alluringly before. Nor have I seen such a calculating temptation portrayed in a Locker Room context, it's usually the domain of manly posturing, casual nudity and furtive, stolen glimpses. This footballer has a scary look that links with the demons of other pictures and the challenge of the boys at the window. You can't be sure whether it's an inviting dare or a warning.
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| Traffic Stop |
