A contemporary photography exhibition curated by neophyte Chiara Nonino at a new art hub in Milan called Base Milano explores the concept of manhood and ‘what does it mean to be a man today?’ The series of images is not the work of one photographer but dozens. They were sourced from the archives of the recently reconstituted L’Uomo Vogue (Italian Vogue Men) magazine. The compilation offers a broad spectrum of how manhood is portrayed with the aim to spark a conversation about it.
A participant, model and writer from the exhibit, Michael-John Harper, penned a summation, «What if we started speaking more in terms of energy than in sexuality? Maybe that means we could go beyond being male and beyond being female. We are more than our sexuality.’
In the words of an editor from L’Uomo Vogue:
“In the Trump and #MeToo movement era set against a new sense of awareness with regard to self-representation and gender fluidity, masculinity is a concept that is being redefined. At present, men have more options in terms of masculine role models than ever before, yet much still needs to be done to free them from stereotyped representations of race, manliness and identity. So what does it mean to be a man today?”
The exhibition presents gender identified males with vastly different circumstances including a trans man breast feeding a baby, Instagram’s virtual reality star Blacko, a cowboy, a dancer and so on. Below are a selection of images:
The exhibition will open November 15th and will carry on for four days until November 18th. It is free and open to the public.
