Photographers - Part 50

Chris Curreri

Chris Curreri, born in 1978, is a Canadian photographer and sculptor.

What on earth does the photograph above depict?  It's an extreme close-up of two men kissing, from his Kiss Portfolio series.

In another Kiss Portfolio photo, you can make out the tongues.

In the photo above, I'm not sure I can figure out what all the parts are.  The text that went with the exhibition of these photos said that viewers are tempted to see much more intimate poses and body parts than the ones that are actually shown.

A final shot from the Kiss Portfolio looks more like a recognizable kiss.

The photo above is from a different series called Puppet, with the model and piece of pottery in various poses.

Curreri is also a sculptor.  These pieces are from a 2017 series called Unruly Matter.

I have to say that they all remind me of the head of a penis emerging from a foreskin.

We end with Self-Portrait with Luis Jacob, 2022, featuring amazingly realistic life-size silicone sculptures of himself and his partner, Luis Jacob.  Here's the description in a gallery featuring this work:

Chris’s work Self Portrait with Luis Jacob is inspired by a photograph taken in 1974 by the filmmaker Rodney Werden.  Chris uses the same idea, but he transforms it, turning it into a life-size sculpture.  In the sculpture, there are two people inside a big glass box.  One person is sitting down, naked.  His eyes are covered by another person standing behind him.

This artwork plays around with the roles of photographer, model, and spectator.  The person in the chair is pressing the button to take the photo.  He is the photographer, but his eyes are covered.  The person covering his eyes is staring at the public observing  the artwork.  The camera is pointing at the public, too.  The box surrounding the figures has a mirror effect, so you can also see yourself observing.

The artwork asks, Who is looking at whom?