SM Artist Statement

“I’m trying to examine the very concept of ‘shame’ by being completely ‘shameless.’  That’s why I’m so fascinated by old, pre-AIDS porn, where sex captured on film wasn’t so mechanical, emotionless, plastic…  I enjoy photographing people in vulnerable, intimate situations, like a guy sniffing another guy’s armpit, a boy with a cucumber up his ass, or German skinheads spitting and pissing on each other.  The point is, my models must be totally comfortable with me and my camera in order for me to photograph them.  It’s about trust and compassion.  I find these kinds of scenes totally engaging and beautiful and I don’t need anyone’s moral approval of my work.  As Rimbaud once said, ‘Morality is a type of brain disease.’  I’ve always enjoyed breaking taboos and stereotypes.  I think that’s what real art is about!”

—Slava Mogutin