The Art of Homoeros - 6 The Art of The Cross

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In the last instalment we saw a gangland revenge inflicted in melodramatic style using a whip in a deserted car park, but this 'stake out' is chillingly direct and simple by comparison, the methodology implying an intention to detain indefinitely.

Before, the tormentor's garb of vest and braces, was conventional hoodlum attire. This time the hit man's clothes are tight-fitting, casual and self-consciously sexual. It's the style of young people - which he clearly is not. Coupled with the hardness of his expression and the sledgehammer in his hand (not a usual tool for fixing nails) you sense that this is a very unpredictable and dangerous man. The splash of blood on his designer jeans is a surprisingly disturbing detail.

The setting for this group of images is a luxurious, modern patio complete with swimming pool and sea view. Whether it's the victim's pad or that of the man he double-crossed we can only guess, but it's sophistication makes the cruelty of the scene all the more shocking.

There are a number of nailing pictures in Homoeros' early work and in this interest he may be influenced by the raw images of Dante and Blake. It's no surprise where that leads.
 

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 This powerful image is representative of an on-going preoccupation with crucifixion-like punishments for which Homoeros is perhaps best known. In this case a T-structure is used from which the victim is suspended by shackles, like the figurehead of a sailing ship.

Using a builder/carpenter as the tormentor (still in his work clothes) and his yard as the (not quite) private venue gives the scene a strange sense of distorted normality. His occupation offers a weirdly logical explanation of the unconventional wooden punishment structure. The victim has clearly been chastised with a whip or cane prior to suspension, but the sinister overtones of the first picture are completely absent. In fact the carpenter looks up wistfully at his victim now, as though awed by his own handiwork. This feels more like an S&M experiment rather than anything else.

Homoeros - Crucifixion

You probably can't say that about this picture (click on smaller images to expand).

There's an obvious connection with Christian imagery which Homoeros' slender physiques seem to draw out. However the essence of his depiction here is almost the reverse in terms of message.

Believers in the religious story portray the victim as the most ordinary of men, middle aged, with a scrawny body and bedraggled hair, he usually is shown meeting his (judicial) fate under ominous, threatening skies and with calm, relaxed resignation. The Christian story links crucifixion with death but it's by no means a given, that death is inevitably the outcome of this punishment (see my footnote below).

In contrast to this, Homoeros depicts a youthful, muscle god, who cannot understand why this terrible punishment has been inflicted on him. Even his outstretched arms shout out, "Why me?" Indeed his cross bears no explanatory label of his crime. He seems to have been put on display for all to see and admire - like a pinned butterfly. Even the glorious backdrop seems to trivialise the attendant pain by glorifying the spectacle, making a pretty picture of it and, in the process, mocking his self-cultivated, bodily beauty.

 The captive's mute protests here are apt. Homoeros has produced many scenes like this, presented with no hint of what gave rise to the punishment. Occasionally there's the clue of a spectator below, looking vengeful or heartbroken. They exchange meaningful looks with the damned man and these images can be quite expressive.

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Here Homoeros explores the feelings of one such onlooker. It isn't clear if he's the person responsible for the crucifixion or merely a witness to it, but his involvement and distress is clear. His personal feelings towards for the victim are explored further in other pictures, showing him bowed before the cross in one, as though seeking the victim's forgiveness or praying for him. In another he is shown turning away with tear-streaked face. The colour tones are sober, underlining the sadness, lightened only by the watery highlights cast by the symbolic, setting sun. It's hard to avoid the conclusion that the men in this pictures are lovers or at least have strong feelings for each other and there's a powerful sense of loss and separation in the scene.

The clothing and the half-timbered building in the background have a medieval feel about them, suggesting a (supposedly) more earthy, brutal era than ours, but it's not one when this form of punishment was practised. The participants themselves have a clean, modern look about them, this is another fantasy.

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This picture is not part of the same set but there's an obvious stylistic connection with it. It's interesting because the artist repeats the device of a dangling noose in the background which we also saw in the 'WIP' picture of Part 5. It's another very gloomy scenario, but that is not allowed to not dim the beauty of the victim.

This image makes me wonder if the thought process is partly to do with the oppression of 'beautiful people', especially by religions, metaphorically crucifying gay men. This inversion of the iconic Christian imagery is supremely ironic and apt. In this context the noose may symbolise depression and suicide.

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That thought process finds some support in this image which explicitly labels the victims as gay lovers, being crucified (presumably) for their deviance and left to suffer together. Homoeros shows their confused fear and distress but also their loyal support for each other in their hour of need. Their physical beauty remains undimmed, illuminated by the soft light of the setting sun once more, the lengthening shadows signalling the onset of darkness.

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The punishment of lovers seems to be the theme here too. 'Rocco' is identified as a slave in other pictures in the group but as usual there's no explicit explanation of his crime. These two could be mere criminals, but their youthful beauty is scarcely the typical stereotyping of felons (even the excruciatingly drawn out execution of two young brothers in 'Hang 'Em High' paints them as reluctant criminals). The inclusion of two 'Roman' soldiers in this picture is a significant addition, explicitly identifying the state as the perpetrator of their agony.

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 Crucifixion also features as the gruesome culmination of 3 longer stories by Homoeros, none of which can be interpreted as gay oppression scenarios (you may be glad to know). 'The Blacksmith's Son', illustrated here, sees a young man of humble origins, but impeccable physique, dallying with a woman of higher estate in a sort of Middle Ages setting. He persists despite the warnings of his father about her disapproving brothers.

They subsequently abduct him in the street and inflict a multi-faceted, painful punishment for his impudence, including the novel idea of inserting of rings in his nipples (which can be seen in the picture above) perhaps denoting his relegation to slave status. There's also some rather less than novel anal action, not fun for a straight guy of course. The Blacksmith's son is painted throughout as an innocent who believes that love conquers all and when his story arrives at this scene, the brutal finality surprises and shocks him as much as it does us.

If one thing is known for sure about crucifixion, it is that it is extremely painful and Tyler is left to learn that lesson by his torturers. The story closes intriguingly, with one brother returning that night to inspect the now-unconscious Tyler by the light of a flaming torch.

The 'model' for this story is Tyler who we previously saw banged up in prison in Part 4

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'The Hacker' is a much more sinister story set in the modern day. Recent extradition hearings relating to this offence have made great play of the horrors of the US prison system, but this wayward, young computer buff finds that the Governmental punishment for interfering with their data is much more extreme than anyone would expect. Tried and condemned he is stripped and sexually abused by his guards (with a hint of electro-torture too). Pretty routine gay fantasy so far, but in a shocking finale he is escorted to a gymnasium and (above) nailed to a wooden beam, at the behest of a female official. Too late he realises the full enormity of his punishment and Homoeros' knack for giving his captives suitably shocked and incredulous expressions is given full rein as he grasps the reality of what is planned for him.

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The victim's humiliation continues with every detail being recorded by an official photographer. The beam is hoisted into the air with him still hanging from it by his wrists. I suppose the choice of wrists to be the primary instrument of his punishment (inflicting what would be extreme pain and probable disablement) may relate to their role in his keyboard-typing crime.

Finally he is transported by the truck, still danging by his wrists, to a stadium where the public can view him as the crossbeam beam is lifted into it's final place on top of an upright post. Interestingly the only spectators Homoeros shows taking advantage this grisly 'photo opportunity' are two young women. I will come back to Homoeros' use of women in a separate instalment of this series.

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Finally, this scene is from one of his most recent series, a full length story recounting a Roman slave's affair with his mistress and betrayal by her brother, who has his own designs on Max's love machine. Like the Blacksmith's son, this victim is straight and misguided, but then the theme of forbidden love was never the sole prerogative of gays.

Max is tried by the family and condemned. The steps in his crucifixion are depicted across 15 or so pictures, with his desperate pleas and protests going unheeded by the vengeful brothers and their father. The images are bathed in a Mediterranean light producing brilliant colours which embellish the love scenes but seem strangely inappropriate as the brutal punishment takes it's course. 

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The final denouement is enacted before a towering Colosseum-like structure which seems to give a public and pseudo-judicial seal on Max's fate. Expelled from the house where he worked, Max is left to face his demise alone, save for those who happen to pass by.

In this story Homoeros elaborates on his theme of the punisher with a conscience, explaining how the Max's owner (in the purple robe) is reluctant to punish him in this way because he is was expensive to buy and made a good and pleasant servant. However he cannot overlook the offence with his malevolent son insistently reading out the 'rule book' to him.

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I know not all of my readers will appreciate these images, with their controlled and ritualised brutality and violence. The 'builders yard' image above represents it as a spectacular extreme in bondage but most of the images feature more the severe restraint technique taken from religious sources. I have chosen the least bloodthirsty ones but acknowledge that they stand at the far boundaries of S&M.

I have featured crucifixion images in this blog before (click on 'crucified' label at the foot of this post to see) but Homoeros' imaginings stand out, most obviously for the shocking incongruity of the youthful, attractive subjects, the carefully chosen and often joyful colour tones and a clinically clean technique that almost sanitises the subject compared with more 'realistic', gloomy creations. However, Homoeros does not simply portray figures on a cross, he explores the whole process and the emotions of those involved in a non-religious context which is quite illuminating and draws out the theme of unstoppable, blind and extremely cruel justice. That makes them worthy of discussion here.

Footnote
 There are still doubts today about how lethal the practise of crucifixion was in itself and whether the death of the victim was actually triggered by responses to prolonged physical stress or caused by other injuries inflicted on him at the same time. There is hardly any physical evidence of them taking place but there are documented accounts of incidents (in addition to that described in the Bible). Some accounts refer to crucifixion as an interim torture and humiliation on the way to execution by more direct means. Inevitably all these are less than detailed and not necessarily objective so the whole subject is shrouded in a degree of mystery and uncertainty.

Next time: Homoeros visits the St Sebastian theme

Read this series from Part 1

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Homoeros Gallery Pages

for more crucifixion images click on the label below

Little Known Incidents of WWII (No 4) - Unlucky in War

Desert Stake-Out

 Given the slightly propagandistic nature of the War Comics, it's not surprising that torture rears it's ugly head in these stories, but not always in the way you would expect. The desert stake out in the picture above is nicely drawn but decidedly odd in the context of modern warface. Out of deference to the young target audience, the not inconsiderable homoerotic potential has been curtailed by his captors leaving him fully dressed, complete with ammo packs on his chest obscuring his groin and showing his legs less widely spread than you and I might prefer.
(View my re-imagined version)

Twenty five pages further on the handsome Lieutenant Jeffreys is in trouble again undergoing a seriously painful interrogation. Luckily good old Sam Kingsby is around again to save him at the window. The moral to young readers is all about loyalty, bravery and patriotism. All very laudable but I can't be the only one who saw something more immediately stimulating in these punishment scenes.

both images above from War Picture Library - 'Tough Guy'

From War Picture Library 'No Higher Stakes'

The desirability of capturing Officers on account of their knowledge of troop dispositions and battle plans is explored more explicitly in this scene set in the Jungles of South East Asia and facing a different enemy. I can't say how common torture was or what form it usually took, but it's hard not to feel the desperation and sense the fear in this man who (in the story) is a cultivated, chess playing individual. He even goes on to discard his Officer's insignia to escape torture but owns up and redeems his honour when he realises he has only deflected the suffering onto other, junior men.
Hurrah for proper values.

 This man's shorts and rolled up sleeves exposing muscular forearms make him seem very attractive. No wonder they wanted to get their hands on him! His fear and the danger he is facing give apply a strange erotic twist to the scene, just as we get seeing Freddie Kruger descending on unsuspecting young lovers or when James Bond is threatened with bizarre, sexual torture.

The portrayal of the fallen soldier on the left, presumably long past fear, also seems strangely attractive to me, but I cannot explain why.

Go to No 5 in this series

Read from Part 1

The Art of Homoeros - 5 whips etc

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 A frightened young man is driven across a bleak wasteland under the lash of a whip, wielded by a determined-looking captor dressed in expensive clothing of a medieval style with a sinister, monk-like cowl. This striking image explores similar ground to Chirenon's 'A New Life for Our Air Force Boys', which I posted here a while ago, except that there's no bondage involved, just pure brute force while terrified fear has been substituted for the flyers' incomprehension about their fate. It's fantasy rather than historic with nipple rings suggesting a modern taste for erotic sensations, he's an escaped trainee recaptured perhaps. I've no idea what the title means, sometimes this artist puts information about his creative sources in the title.

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This may be what lies in store for the first terrified captive, I warn you, blonds get a lot of stick in this universe! This is another image I admire for it's pure simplicity and understated menace, coupled with a rather nice portrayal of the 'blonde beach-boy' stereotype. His slender muscularity is just right for that role and you can imagine his favourite surfing shorts cast aside just out of sight, having been have been roughly removed by his captor. Pitched into this ominous situation, he pulls at his restraints anxiously. Perhaps he's regretting drawing attention to himself now, with all those self-indulgent beef-cake poses.



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The same enclosure serves for Scott's punishment here. Homoeros invokes another historical fantasy with the whipper's gladiatorial skirt and chain flail, but there's much evidence of a modern crossover, like in the see through element of his garment, the victim's name and background detail.  It doesn't take much imagination to realise what terrible bone-crushing damage the weight of the flail could inflict on the human body if swung with any amount of force. Could a modern boy like Scott, who can be dominated without resorting to bondage restraint, withstand such ferocity or does the fantasy spare him from the reality?



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Possibly, if this scene is anything to go by. This chastised slave, released from the whipping post staggers unsteadily to his feet while his handsome master stands majestically over him, appraising his own handiwork, job done. The whip used here seems quite a mild instrument in comparison to the antique flail, but they can also be heavy enough to pack a similar punch and this one's been beefed up with a metal ring near the tip which you can just see in this image in a rather suggestive place. The sense of domination here is terrific but Homoeros does not show us any gory devastating consequences, focussing instead on a brave, uncomplaining, 'pick yourself up' response from the manly victim. The great gay artist,Quaintance was also a great portrayer of antique slave whippings..





Ship_s_Lookout_05

Homoeros shows similar interest in the regulation of the confined environment of sailing ships. These had a code of conduct scarcely less demanding than the slave masters of ancient times. Severe punishments were meted out even for petty infractions and considered essential for the maintenance of discipline and good order. 

Normally such punishments were inflicted before the crew to encourage the rest of them to conform. In the British Navy offenders were stripped to the waist and tied to gratings removed from hold entrances and propped up at an angle. We can't see an audience here and it seems to be the punisher who is really getting the lesson.  He hesitates before commencing, scratching his head and seemingly perplexed. In the end his feelings do not prevent him from doing his duty, else he might suffer the same fate himself, but in this sensitive sailor, Homoeros unveils another attractive character, at first sight perfectly suited to his less than pleasant task but with enough of a foot in the modern age to have a conscience as well as a gym honed body, coiffured hair and sexy tight trousers.



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That sense of a bond between punished and punisher takes a more intimate form in 'Alfred in Prison. The guard touches the helpless suspended victim him on the cheek as though comforting him or cherishing his fragile, beauty before unleashing the designated punishment on his person. He's literally adding insult to injury not just by indulging his sadistic interest in the victims suffering, but by shamelessy communicating it to the him, that he might know the humiliation of suffering for such a selfish entertainment. The restraint position here, suspending the victim by his arms, is demanding enough. The artist has captured the tension in his arms convincingly. Allowing his toes to just about touch the ground if he stretches, introduces another site of discomfort for him.



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If the last two pictures suggest a quasi-legal justification for the victim's punishment, this one certainly doesn't, referencing instead the laws and rough justice of the underworld. We've seen this 'Industrial Ruin' before and it's aura of an abandoned parking lot seems an apt setting to what appears to be a scene of gangland revenge, which activity often seems to end up involving building sites or building materials. The transgressor of the rules shown here is certainly no ruin himself, but his vest-clad nemesis has some suggestive qualities in that direction. However he too has an admirable physique under that vest and sports braces which tells you he's temporarily shed his normal, well-dressed appearance in order to do justice to this task, which he is doing with gusto enough to expose the 'squealer' in his victim.
Bring on the concrete mixer!





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Threat hangs over this scene too as an extraordinarily attractive captive pleads for mercy on his knees in a dank, dark dungeon with walls that will ensure no-one will hear him scream when punishment begins. Like the dramatic finale of an epic play, his young jailer seems to be reasoning with him, pointing out the regrettable inevitability of all this pain. Their bubble haircuts create a whiff of the mythical here, where 'cruel and unusual' punishments are often the norm. This one looks like being crudely down to earth unless that beauty can talk his way out of this,



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There's an even more intimate communion here as the guard puts a finger on the prisoners lips, gently admonishing him to be silent or maybe reminding him of their kisses which now count for nothing next to the kiss of the whip that loves all men equally. This guard has stripped down to his loincloth to administer punishment, a practical choice but one that creates the illusion of near equality between these two men when there's clearly a more structured relationship here. Those beguiling blue eyes would test the mettle of any whip-man and there's something about his hang dog look that makes you want to put your arms around that slender waist.



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This man takes a more direct course to silencing his victim, gagging him and laying into him with chains that would loosen any man's tongue. The prisoner's body is bathed in a soft glow, such as you might see early in the morning. He braces himself for the first blow as stoically as he can.

Such self control alas will soon be extinguished.

The attacker has the appearance of a 70's pop star with longish, well-constructed hair and leather pants. He looks determined and angry and seems to have chosen an ancient, Roman amphitheatre for the boy's punishment scene, complete with crowd controlling ropes, but no-one else is present for this performance.





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This picture is entitled 'wip' for 'work in progress' and I know of no finished or companion pieces, but it already has a completeness that requires no elaboration. The prisoner is exceptionally attractive and slightly dizzy looking, but he stands upright at the stake, the orange sky burnishing his muscular body as the sun rises on what may be his last day. The guard seems to be offering him the choice of the flail, whose vicious qualities we have already discussed, or a quicker route to oblivion - the noose. Perhaps he is explaining that one will be the precursor to another. In earlier times it was the fate of particularly nasty criminals to be hung in chains and left for the birds to devour. The prisoner listens in amazement, as though he's hearing a different sentence to that handed down at his trial or just terminally naïve. With no appeal mechanisms left either.

Homoeros flirts with hanging as an ultimate punishment in a few other pictures, but this oblique reference is his most successful invocation of the threat of that demise.



Homoeros - That_Look_08

The threat of ultimate violence hangs over this picture too as another bound (and blond) victim is ushered across another amphitheatre at the point of a sword towards a specially paved area that is unaccountably littered with large stones. Do the empty steps offer an escape route or merely await the arrival of an audience for his uncertain fate? The guard seems to be watching him very closely with sword arm tensed as though preparing to strike at that inviting, unprotected back given half an excuse. But there's a sense too of him standing back, letting his prisoner go to whatever fate is in store.

Another nuanced illustration of victim and his oppressor.

Next time the Homoeros punishment trail reaches it's destination (Part 6).

Read this series from Part 1

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Homoeros Gallery Pages

The Look of 'Morning-After-The-Night-Before' Confusion

This vintage photograph is a classic precisely because of what it doesn't say.

It's black and white but the full nudity dates it just into the era of sexual liberation. 

The situation is timeless however, even if the circumstances that make it funny have changed.

I'm sure there are many other captions better than mine - any offers?

Can anyone identify the model on the right for me? I seem to recognise him.

This is 'Look' No 12, 

click on the label below to see more....

The Art of Homoeros - 4 'Abused'

Homoeros - 296_08

This beautiful man faces his intimidating captor not knowing what his fate is to be. The dilapidated shed they are in is no prison or torture chamber, but it's private and remote and basic enough to imply that unpleasantness lies ahead. His captor looks a bit of a brute and immensely strong (a relative of the ogre in part 2?) He also has a natural grandeur about him and the simple act of clothing him in jeans while his captive has to kneel before him totally naked and bound suggests he intends to assert his authority over him quite ruthlessly.

Homoeros - 257f_Tyler_behind_bars_04

This is Tyler who's been banged up in prison and fallen foul of a sadistic warder, being forced here to perform naked press-ups. In Tyler you can see how the artist's shaping of his models to suit his own erotic preferences, produces exaggerated body shapes which are not entirely realistic and not always elegantly assembled from a technical point of view. However, Tyler's unusual body somehow accentuates his nudity and exposure here, particularly in comparison to the very normal-looking guard. His slender proportions confer an expected sense of frailty on his muscular body and, coupled with a boyish face, makes you feel he doesn't really belong in a place like this and is very vulnerable. But in this typical homoerotic situation, naturally, there's worse to come.

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 The guard in these scenes is very nicely modelled and posed - and clothed! His lean physique and half-hidden face creates a more sinister type of bully than conventional, bigger and more brutish stereotypes, like the man we saw in the first picture. It makes you fear for Tyler.

Bringing human bodies together as intimately as this is another technical challenge in rendering that makes me happy to stick to pencil drawing. However, this artist has produced an extraordinary result in which Tyler's ass appears to be nestling inside the guard's open trousers.
Quite fantastical but very sexy.

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Elsewhere, 'Miles' fate is even more painful as a cop whips his naked back to punish his insolence. Like Tyler, his youthful looks don't seem to warrant such severe punishment being inflicted on him. There's an earlier image in this series where Miles has been 'brought in' for questioning and sits at a table in the interview room, naked and alone, pondering what he has done and what is going to happen to him (Miles 03). It's a simple image but full of pathos. He can hardly imagine that this sort of brutality awaits him.

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The workplace can be equally dangerous for the unwary blond in the domains of Homoeros. If you recall the 'fashionista' apprentice in part 2 of this series you'll get an idea of what has led to this scene. It's a different young building apprentice here but one equally in need of further life education.
I'm not sure what his two finger salute is indicating but suspect it's probably rude.

Brahm on the left is a bit of a hunk but, as a mentor, not long on patience. Accordingly he includes a purpose-made spanking paddle in his equipment to cater for such eventualities. Even allowing for the distortion of perspective it's proportions are alarming. Aerodynamics and wind resistance will probably mitigate it's impact on those succulent buns, but it's already making it's mark.

Spankings do not feature overmuch in this artist's work but this is a good example of the genre. You'll be glad to know there are some happy endings at the end of this particular encounter.

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In some lines of work a degree of unpleasantness is not just an added extra but part of the job description. This 'model' is referred to only as '244' by Homoeros, purely for practical reasons I have no doubt, but it imparts a chilling casualness to his various fates of being imprisoned, groped by a business man and after brief spell working in a carpet retailer (in the souk) being consigned to a harem where he is obliged to provide pleasure to both mistress and (above) the slave master.

We previously met 244 in a dungeon setting from which you might infer that his Harem skills were not deemed entirely satisfactory in the end - or perhaps he was too willing to give his all to others. Homoeros cloaks his nether regions in shadow in this image but you can still see evidence of willing collaboration despite the ropes around his wrists - or perhaps because of them! In this accomplished image Homoeros creates a most convincing coming together of the two characters.

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 He repeats that trick here where two young men are being inducted into the dark world of S&M. They have been forced to torture each other, taking it in turns to be the top, and now must have sex together. The presence of a leather-clad M/C here giving them instruction gives the scene it's twist of kinky domination, but it's a pretty good sex image anyway with the receiver actively offering himself up in a physically strenuous position and the artist's customary floppy style of dick creating just the right ambiguous pleasure effect. (You may recall Riccardo in a different fix in Part 3)

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Given Homoeros fascination with controlling and directing his creations it's not surprising that he depicts scenarios involving ambitious models, whose pursuit of fame makes them most malleable and obliging. They get put though their paces by photographers with seedy and sometimes malign objectives. In Fred and Max, the young model is persuaded to go beyond posing in underwear and introduced to an older mentor for a naked wrestling routine which extends into places the poor lad didn't know he had.

Fisting images don't usually come like this. Stripped of the leather usual leather paraphernalia, tattoos and body jewellery, the characters are just like ordinary men and the dark erotic tension of their experimentation/seduction/domination is allowed to surface.
The two facial expressions say it all.

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In the the culmination of the Fred and Max encounter the hapless model is locked into this amazing, sci-fi, spreader restraint. This leggy blond is a very suitable subject for such a device and the 'spread 'em wide' policy certainly meets with my approval. It seems to pay tribute to the extreme spreads depicted by 'Boomer' some years ago (an artist whom I must remember to add to this blog soon).

The presence of the photographer kneeling and carefully attending to the cock of the captive - who can only watch helplessly - gravitates the picture towards the strange uncertainty of medical scenarios. It turns out he's only decorating the model's cock shaft with paint or a tattoo and the main job of the glorious mounting frame is simply to keep the boy's equipment firm and steady while he does so. Notice how the model's recently ravaged ass seems to sit in a recess at the hub of the arms, creating a similar erotic enclosure effect to Tyler's ass being drawn into the Policeman's trousers (above).

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Strange how being tied to a chair in a darkened room conjures up far more associations of danger than the most complex of technical restraint devices. The captor standing behind his gagged victim, holding him steady, makes it even more menacing. There's a pair of medical forceps already dangling from the captive's nipple but it looks like a pair of scissors is up next. He sits bolt upright, his body seemingly tense with anticipation. Is it to be an impromptu haircut or something else .......?

This seemingly simple image is actually quite remarkable,
something of a tour de force by Homoeros.

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As these punishment scenes develop, Homoeros begins to suggest a strange bond between captor and captive where the punisher has strange feelings for his victim, sympathetic even. In this case extending a consoling arm even as he prepares to administer an even worse punishment with the whip. His face shows sorrow but also seems quite implacable, as though he is discharging a duty which cannot be avoided.

The use of nipple-crushing, medical forceps by a jeans-clad master doesn't seem too surprising these days, it's become standard S&M equipment, but the stethescope dangling from his neck is something else. It sets up a most sinister possibility - that this master is medically trained and that he intends to use that knowledge to take his victim to the brink. His mundane clothing, like that of a labourer or workman, and the bare, office-like surroundings means there is no sense of ritual or play in this encounter, it's a casual, everyday type of brutality without obvious purpose.

Homoeros floods his pictures with light and colour but it feels as though he is ushering us into a very dark place -which we shall explore further in Part 5.

Read this series from Part 1

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Homoeros Gallery Pages

The Art of Homoeros - 3 'In Captivity'

Homoeros - 244 series (St Andrews Cross)

 A young man, is alone in a bare, dungeon-like room, lit only by a distant window. 

He is naked and clamped with fetters to an 'X'-shaped frame of some complexity,

it looks purposefully designed for specific - and repeated - use. 

The angled spreadeagled position traps him with his own body weight.

 He can move his head but it's unsupported and his neck muscles are protesting,

He can flex his limbs but not enough to pull them from their metal restraints, 

 He can move at the waist but that only reminds him of his naked vulnerability there 

He wonders what is going to happen when his captor returns 

he will probably stand right in front of him, between his opened legs.

He's always been proud of his muscular body, a product of much hard work in the gym.

He's enjoyed the admiration and envy it has earned him from others,
 but this involuntary exhibition embarrasses and frightens him.

His head turns as he hears someone at the door and he trembles.

~

This atmospheric piece leaves much unsaid for the viewer to imagine

but the helpless plight of this magnificent young Adonis is stimulation aplenty!

The artist's sense of colour contributes makes a beautiful picture of an erotic piece.
The sunny window invokes a world outside where life goes on, uncaring.
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Homoeros - The_Guest_04

This man came to dinner and stayed much longer. Tethered to a gazebo on this rich man's terrace, his beauty is set alongside that of nature, as he watches the sun setting on a quiet coastline. 

Soon it will be night....

For once Homoeros shows a man's bubble butt in all it's glory erotically showcasing them in tight denim jeans. The bunched muscles on the man's back, highlighted by the setting sun, are equally inviting and the colouring again is terrific.

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Homoeros - 219_At_The_Pillar_05

 This slender boy finds himself in the most bizarre of entrapments. In the urban waste of an abandoned concrete building or car park, a classical pillar has been erected. Stripped of his modern day clothing and chained to it, 219 suddenly seems to be in danger of suffering the terrible fate of a thousand rebellious slaves. In Homoeros' hands this pose produces a long slender body which for all it's muscularity seems most vulnerable.

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Homoeros - 425_Elijah_mats_07

This is an imaginative form of bondage which seems to have evolved from those knife-throwing circus acts. Quaintance was using it back in the 50's for an exotic (and decidedly bloodthirsty) Mayan Sacrifice scene. The circular panel to which poor Elijah is bolted doesn't appear to have been damaged by knife blades or sullied by blood yet but there's always a first time I suppose. Of course we can't see what he can see and his terrified look is probably not just the product of a vivid imagination. The bare stone walls and simple items on the table in the foreground imply a medieval or Inquisition setting but the bondage platform looks quite modern suggesting a re-enactment of those times, which is hardly comforting for Elijah!
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Homoeros - 271a_Riccardo_in_Trouble_03

 You want helpless? It's hard to imagine any method of restraint more devastating to the captive than this. Suspended high above the ground in the middle of a bare room, he is totally exposed and even if he manages to wriggle out of the restraints faces a scary drop to the floor. The chains attached to his limbs seem to be threatening to pull him apart and his muscular strength avails him nothing when there's nothing to lever it against. His face shows his dismay and confusion, it as though he's demanding to know 'Why?'
Just look in the mirror Riccardo.

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Homoeros - 271a_Riccardo_in_Trouble_04

 The view from behind is even better, it gives us the sense of covertly observing the prisoner as he is left to struggle with the discomfort of the restraint and his own bewilderment. This is just a reversal of the previous image (a benefit of using render software) but the lowered head in this view gives a sense of resignation - and a view of beautiful buns!

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Homoeros - 112_Shackled_02

 This image of a shackled man lying in a shallow stone bath isn't one of the best but if it's implying what I think it is - a pissy punishment in the offing - then it's an unusual subject in this artist's output and I include it for that reason. The captive's curly blond locks seeme most appropriate to the antique setting, and in this context the horror on his face might signify an even worse cruelty is facing him, but as ever the artist gives no explanation. Notice how he's flipped the colour palette to invoke a Mediterranean light and tanned body, all perfectly toned with the chains

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Homoeros - Inquisition_04

There are no such doubts about the direction of travel here, the captive is being racked for his religious non-conformance. The cross held aloft above him adds insult to injury. Traditionally victims of the inquisition are depicted in non-flattering ways with liberal doses of scraggy hair and tattered clothing but this one is a real hunk, one of the artist's more adult-looking models. The artist's interest in stretched torsos seems to have found a natural subject here.

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All the examples shown above show spreading or stretching forms of bondage, but Homoeros usually seems to initiate his men in more traditional ways and these proliferate in his catalogue. He seems to propel his men gradually into bondage situations. If you look at his model picture groups, the beefcake poses he starts out  with are innocent enough but before long a 'hands behind the back' pose appears, casting the man as a potential captive/slave. Sometimes he places them in front of a post and before long, if he favours them, their hands become tied, and then secured to the it.

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Homoeros - 168a_04

 For me these simplest of bondage situations are often the most erotic. This man's arms are tied back tightly behind his back accentuating his nudity. Although his bodily proportions are highly exaggerated, that seems to accentuate the severity of his restraint. We don't know if he has been captured here - a hiker who's lost his way and found a new one - or he might have been brought here for punishment. Either way you can see in his lowered eyes that he knows he has become another man's prize. The barren, stony landscape behind him, almost biblical in it's bleakness, is symbolic of his predicament.

Homoeros - Hostage_03

 This is another of Homoeros' early pictures and it has a similar striking simplicity that reaches to the very heart of a bondage enthusiast's leanings. The captive has been stripped and left tied to a post, a position that proclaims his nudity. At this point it seems that, having established that he cannot free his hands or dislodge the upright to escape, he is now pausing to survey his surroundings and assess his predicament. 

This method of restraint, fixing the captive in a specific place and effectively putting him on display has literary/historical associations with primitive cultures, rituals and even sacrifice. The title tells us he's a hostage. These are usually used to extort money or to ward off would-be attackers. The latter scenario looks more probable here but either way he knows his life is in danger.

It's hard to tell if the amorphous green mass that surrounds him is land vegetation or algae floating on swampy water, but he's staring at it as though he's expecting something to emerge from it. A being that needs to be appeased perhaps. A rescuer even! I can't explain the point of light, which seems to have been placed deliberately in an erotically suggestive position, perhaps implying a more fantastical or magical explanation of the scene.

Next time I explore Homoeros' punishment art

Read this series from Part 1

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