{"id":2035,"date":"2024-07-24T16:29:02","date_gmt":"2024-07-24T16:29:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dev-gaystarnewscouk.gmg-staging.link\/?p=2035"},"modified":"2024-07-24T16:29:08","modified_gmt":"2024-07-24T16:29:08","slug":"looking-for-now-ashish-gupta-photography-book-house-of-voltaire","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dev-gaystarnewscouk.gmg-staging.link\/index.php\/2024\/07\/24\/looking-for-now-ashish-gupta-photography-book-house-of-voltaire\/","title":{"rendered":"Looking For Now: The Queer Longing At The Heart Of Designer Ashish Gupta\u2019s New Photography Book"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>You will be very familiar with Ashish Gupta\u2019s fashion designs from Instagram stories by now. His sequinned reimaginings of Taylor Swift\u2019s \u201cNot A Lot Going On At The Moment\u201d Eras Tour t-shirts have become a defining look of the shows. But unlike his signature and much beloved designs, which are full of vibrant shades and couture sparkle, his new photography project takes on a significantly more muted aesthetic.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThese aren\u2019t fashion images,\u201d he tells me, as we discuss the new photo book, <em>Looking For Now, <\/em>released as a collaboration with House of Voltaire. \u201cThey\u2019re more inspired by vintage porn magazines, and photography of the male form, than fashion.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1080\" height=\"1350\" src=\"https:\/\/d1wrk42pj731ls.cloudfront.net\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Untitled-design-36.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2036\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">From Ashish Gupta&#8217;s new photography book, &#8216;Looking For Now&#8217;<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Where the sequins of his fashion designs are hard and dazzling, the soft white cotton underwear that litters the pages of <em>Looking For Now<\/em> reveals a more intimate gaze in the artist.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThese photos are portraits of individuals as they are, often the clothes they arrive in. I\u2019m documenting the experience we have as photographer and model, and the commonality we have. It\u2019s not about me imposing glamour onto them, but more about what they choose to share with me and how they present themselves in the moment.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Like a cross between a Gay porn mag and an American Apparel underwear catalogue, the images are saturated with a heady male sexuality that feels affronting. \u201cThis book has been put together as a series of pairings and vignettes that reflect Queer experience,\u201d Ashish tells me. \u201cI wanted to articulate the complex relationships around hook up culture, self image and self worth. These are intimate portraits where I have tried to capture the vulnerability that accompanies lust and sexual objectification.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1080\" height=\"1350\" src=\"https:\/\/d1wrk42pj731ls.cloudfront.net\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Untitled-design-37.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2037\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">From Ashish Gupta&#8217;s new photography book, &#8216;Looking For Now&#8217;<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Away from bright lights and glamour filters, the unmasking, sunlight and bare skin of<em> Looking For Now<\/em> allows for a sexuality that feels rare \u2013 one that\u2019s both soft <em>and <\/em>in your face.<em> <\/em>\u201cMuch of Queer culture, or Gay culture, has always been situated around desire; desire for sex, connection, love. As a marginalised community we deal with the conflicting desires to both fit in and live outside of mainstream society. Sex, love, desire are universal themes, within the LGBTQ+ communities there are extra layers of meaning to contend with.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><em>Looking For Now launches July 27th At Studio Voltaire 4-6pm with a book signing by Ashish. He\u2019s also giving away original Polaroids to the first few buyers!<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><em>Follow the author on Instagram <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/iamhelenthomas\/\">here.<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;I have tried to capture the vulnerability that accompanies lust and sexual objectification.&#8221;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":2038,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[44,93,11,21],"class_list":["post-2035","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-culture","tag-culture","tag-gay","tag-photography","tag-queer"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v24.5 (Yoast SEO v24.5) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Looking For 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