Ashish on his sex-positive photo annual
Indian designer Ashish is synonymous with the use of sequins, with an eponymous brand adored by the likes of Taylor Swift, Maisie Williams and Katy Perry. But his latest project proves that he has more strings to his bow than just creating gorgeously embellished dresses.
Somewhat of a creative curveball for the Delhi native, his new photo annual, GAZE, is a celebration of queer intimacy featuring images that he has captured over the course of his travels. Released in collaboration with Studio Voltaire, this was an opportunity for Ashish to once again create work that seeks to promote sex-positivity. While this is his first major photography project, exploring sexuality is nothing new for Ashish. He has previously dropped the sell-out TAINT t-shirt collection, which featured an array of erotic dot-to-dots. He also recently released a limited-edition collection in collaboration with MATCHES, which adorned erotic messages on hand-woven blankets, all in the hope of creating a more positive attitude towards talking openly about sex.
To coincide with the book launch, Ashish sat down with HUNGER to discuss his thought-process behind GAZE.
Joe Scotland, who is the director of art gallery Studio Voltaire, asked if I would like to do a project to help support their arts and education charity programs – and I was delighted to be involved. I’ve been taking photos for a few years now, like a secret personal project, a diary of sorts, so we thought it would be nice to use that as a starting point. So a 365-page “date book” just made sense.
I wanted the book to be about joy, liberation and sex. I grew up in a culture where queer erotic imagery was completely unavailable and illegal, and the intersection of art and porn has always interested me. Having said that, I really wanted to capture these moments of intimacy in a way that reflects my own experience and sex IRL – as opposed to perfect bodies and porn. So many of us have been told our bodies are too feminine, too fat, too skinny, or just not welcomed because of our colour. I was told by a lot of the people in this book that the experience of being photographed as an object of desire was really liberating. That made me very happy.
Often it feels like gay culture is trying to attain a certain heterosexual approval and respectability. I wanted GAZE to be unapologetic about lust, cruising, hookups, trade, promiscuity, fetishes, sexual desires. It was great to take pictures of guys who were so uninhibited about their bodies and sexuality. I don’t think that a picture of a hard cock or two guys kissing should be shocking, and I don’t think that monogamy or marriage should be the goal that everyone has to strive for.
Homosexuality was only decriminalised in India last year – while that’s a good thing, I think it will take a while for societal attitudes to change. I think the scene is still comparatively quite small and pretty much confined to the bigger cities, but there is increasing queer visibility which hopefully will help to change things in the long run.
One personal highlight was meeting Armand, who is the 83-year-old owner of Cafe Strange – the oldest gay bar in Antwerp. He’s someone who has seen it all – from cruising in the 1950s to a recent attack on his bar by homophobic thugs. He was back at work within a few days, re-opening the venue and carrying on. He has the most amazing stories and someone needs to make a movie about his life.
