BODY COPY is a photo-text series by artist Mitchell Moreno (they/them) exploring the performance of queer masculinities in digital culture. Moreno began the project by collating a thousand lines of text from apps and websites where men (mostly) were looking to meet other men (mostly) for sex or dates. From these texts Moreno selected 43 adverts and created ‘ideal’ visual responses in the form of self-portraits to illustrate the desires expressed in each.
To create the self-portraits in their London flat Moreno, whose day job is as a builder and decorator, took on the roles of set maker, stylist, model, and photographer. They worked alone using a tripod-mounted camera and cable shutter release. The DIY ethos extended to costumes and props, which were largely sourced from charity shops and recycling sites on a shoe-string budget.
The one thousand lines of text are ordered alphabetically throughout the book, reading like an experimental poem. The project was made over a four year period, providing an ethnography of sorts on the archetypes, kinks, prejudices and preoccupations of non-straight masculine desire at a particular point in time and space.
“I began the project while in recovery from body dysmorphic disorder, as a means of addressing the crisis of how I saw myself and felt I was seen by others. Beyond the therapeutic, I hope the work provides an opportunity to reflect on themes including identity politics, neoliberal digital culture, and the performance of masculinities. I also hope it will entertain.”
Mitchell Moreno is a working-class, genderqueer artist from Leicester, UK. Their work explores the queer gaze, the performance of masculinities, and art-as-therapy, and has been widely exhibited internationally. Moreno studied at Cambridge University and the Royal Academy of Music, before working for over a decade in theatre, opera, and circus, as a performer and director. After a hiatus from work due to a major mental health crisis, they began to reengage with creative practice via photography, in which they are self taught. They live in London and support themselves by working as a builder and decorator.
Mitchell Moreno : BODY COPY
GOST Books
215 x 294 mm Portrait
196 pages, 44 images
Signed edition ISBN 978-1-915423-68-9
Standard edition ISBN 978-1-915423-49-8
RRP £50 | €60 | $65
www.gostbooks.com
