| Dual identities run deep throughout my entire body of work. I often perceive a suggestion of the other with every subject I photograph. The slip between the two spaces, along with projecting those dual identities to their creators as well as their spectators interests me the most. For these photographs I wanted to use the male form, concentrating on the genitalia and surrounding areas, as a canvas to create a series of beautiful, yet confronting images. So often in our society the penis is relegated to either x-rated pornography (often blurring the lines of art itself) or classical black-and-white nudes. It is revered and feared because of the historical power connotations it possesses. | 
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Joshua Helms
Joshua Helms, Sequence of Events, 2003. C-type print, 16 x 20 inches. Courtesy of the artist.
Dual identities run deep throughout my entire body of work. I often perceive a suggestion of the other with every subject I photograph. The slip between the two spaces, along with projecting those dual identities to their creators as well as their spectators interests me the most.
For these photographs I wanted to use the male form, concentrating on the genitalia and surrounding areas, as a canvas to create a series of beautiful, yet confronting images. So often in our society the penis is relegated to either x-rated pornography (often blurring the lines of art itself) or classical black-and-white nudes. It is revered and feared because of the historical power connotations it possesses. I strived to take some of the power that the public has granted it away. These images, for me, are beautiful because of their composition, color, and light; they just also happen to utilize parts of the male form that are typically thought of as taboo. This creates an interesting dichotomy between what the viewer would ordinarily feel when seeing these body parts alone versus how they feel when seeing them accented by paint, sequins, food, and other materials. The question changes from “Can I like it?” to “Do I like it?” because of these accoutrements.
While that series is now a few years old, I am still heavily interested in the male nude, and how it can reach the masses of the non-art world. I recently completed a photographic and ethnographic project about Gaydar.com (a computer-mediated chat site), and the way the online world is used to shift the identities of the gay population. Gaydar.com’s diversity of users makes it a seemingly unparalleled place for meeting other gay men. Its methods of delivery though, create a breeding ground of homogeneity. By photographing gay men based on my online perception of them, I showcased the tremendous variance between online and offline identities.
My photographs always seem to grow from each other. Welcomed photographic accidents often inspire whole bodies of work and lead me in directions I never realized I wanted to go. It is only when I look back at what I have created am I able to see how connected and thematically similar projects turn out to be. These similarities help to give me a constant reminder of the type of artist I have become, as well as a map to discover places I have yet to explore.
