Amy Elkins – Wallflower

amyelkins.com and her blog.

“Wallflower, an ongoing series of male portraits, is an exploration into the nuances of gender identity and the male psyche. Starting in 2005, the project parallels the time my father spent in a federal state prison; spawned by a sudden intrigue regarding masculine identity when stripped of personal context or when facing heightened states of vulnerability. In a reversal of the traditional male gaze, the images confront some of the cultural grounds underlying gender, opting to focus on the beauty, sensitivity and vulnerabilities found in a sex that has long been held to masculine expectations and stereotypes.”