“With Skin Deep I want to show a wider audience something that is visually stimulating and celebrates how these people are breaking the mould of what others think by being true to themselves in an elite industry and expressing who they are through the medium of tattooing, with just a lens between them and me, and stripped of the character that a designer’s clothing demands, each tattoo is specific, personal and unique to the bearer, chosen by the model to say something special about themselves.”
– Danny Baldwin (SKIN DEEP by Danny Baldwin | KALTBLUT Magazine 2017)
“The Tattooed Male Model” was an exhibition by Baldwin that featured over 100 models. Baldwin crowd-sourced funding through Kickstarter to be able to display his photography exhibition.
These images are about showcasing the individuality and identity of each model. The freedom to express ourselves through tattoos is celebrated in his work. Each showcases the tattoos of the model and implies nudity, without showing the penis. The tattoos (and muscles) take centre stage in the images, without the penis drawing the attention of the viewer.
The exhibition recognises the shift in marketing to include tattooed models in campaigns, previously this was a taboo area. even today, tattooed models are classed as ‘alternative’. They are just individuals who defiantly celebrate ownership of their own bodies and whose tattoos represent them and their individuality.
Personally, I enjoy photographing tattooed models as their ink tells me a story and reveals something personal about them. For some, tattoos are armour against being totally understood by others. In other cases, the tattoos give the viewer a true insight into their inner self.
These images are visually stimulating and something I want to explore in my shoots, especially my planned shoot with Clint, who is tattooed.
REFERENCES
SKIN DEEP by Danny Baldwin | KALTBLUT Magazine. 2017. KALTBLUT Magazine [online]. Available at: http://www.kaltblut-magazine.com/skin-deep-by-danny-baldwin/ [accessed 07 June 2017].
IMAGE SOURCES
Figure 1: TEAM, QX. 2017. “Danny Baldwin Talks Skin Deep – QX Magazine”. QX Magazine [online]. Available at: http://www.qxmagazine.com/2015/12/danny-baldwin-talks-skin-deep/ [accessed 07 June 2017].
Figure 2: SKIN DEEP by Danny Baldwin | KALTBLUT Magazine. 2017. KALTBLUT Magazine [online]. Available at: http://www.kaltblut-magazine.com/skin-deep-by-danny-baldwin/ [accessed 07 June 2017].
Figure 3: Twitter. 2017. Twitter.com [online]. Available at: https://twitter.com/gaytimesmag/status/656501578497695744 [accessed 07 June 2017].
Figure 4: DANNY BALDWIN PHOTOGRAPHY – EXHIBITION. 2017. DANNY BALDWIN PHOTOGRAPHY[online]. Available at: http://www.dannybaldwin.com/exhibition [accessed 07 June 2017].
Figure 5: SKIN DEEP: An Exhibition of 100 Tattooed Male Models. 2017. KARL IS MY UNKLE [online]. Available at: http://karlismyunkle.com/2015/10/20/skin-deep-an-exhibition-of-100-tattooed-male-models/ [accessed 07 June 2017].
Figure 6: SKIN DEEP: An Exhibition of 100 Tattooed Male Models. 2017. KARL IS MY UNKLE [online]. Available at: http://karlismyunkle.com/2015/10/20/skin-deep-an-exhibition-of-100-tattooed-male-models/ [accessed 07 June 2017].
Figures 7 – 12: SKIN DEEP by Danny Baldwin | KALTBLUT Magazine. 2017. KALTBLUT Magazine [online]. Available at: http://www.kaltblut-magazine.com/skin-deep-by-danny-baldwin/ [accessed 07 June 2017].
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