Stripes, a Tank, and a Towel; June (2021) comes from Hidden Glances, a series of photographs constructed from vintage gay pornographic calendars published during the years between the artist’s first recognition of his sexuality and his coming out. Each image combines two figures from the same calendar: the male body is cut from the top layer, and the resulting negative space reveals a censored portion of the figure beneath. The construction is then photographed, bringing both layers onto a single seamless plane.

That compression of space, and the duality of revealing and concealing, becomes a metaphor for years of tentative, fleeting glances at other men, taken in fear that those stolen moments might expose the artist’s identity. Here, the image is cut apart once more. Assembling the puzzle means working through fragments to arrive at a whole, much as the artist spent his youth piecing together a self he could not yet show. Each piece placed is a small act of recognition.

By removing the source material from its original purpose, the work invites viewers to consider how pornography can inform more reflective conversations about the male body, the coming-out process, and the struggles shared by many gay men. More universally, it explores self-acceptance, shame, fear, and personal secrets.

Stripes, a Tank, and a Towel; June (2021) has been exhibited on billboards during Queer Festival Heidelberg in Germany; in the group show Layered Realities at Fotomuseum Hilversum, the Netherlands; and as a large-scale nighttime projection on landmark buildings during Night Lights Denver 2025. It is also published in Deeply Human: Global Queer Photography.