LIAM HOLLINGBERY
Working under the tongue-in-cheek moniker Penis de Milo, my work is an irreverent play upon classicism. Fueled by a fascination of vintage toys and their playfulness, and an intrigue of the hyper masculine presentation of gay porn, I create an amalgamation of these to make work that is a satirical image of homosexual identity. Initially inspired by the gay porn illustrator Tom of Finland whose representations of homosexuality were loaded with an air of machismo energy, an identity I personally didn’t resonate with. I decided to recreate these images of intimacy with my own characters. Dolls and teddies of the late 20th century heavily inspired these characters and when they are put into these scenes of debauchery, it results in an uncomfortable anthropomorphism and jarring contrast of explicitness and humour. Recently my work has taken inspiration from classical art, which has allowed me to ‘queer up’ and bring a whole new meaning to famously recognised works of art. The irreverent queering is furthered by my use of a palette limited to primary colours, where the meaning of the work is then contrasted or exaggerated by the blockiness.
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You can follow more of his work by visiting his website or by clicking the links below:
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