Artist Statement

As a fan of unabashed 90s NYC cable access celebrities like Robin Byrd, Lou Maletta, even Al Goldstein to name a few, I found myself fascinated by these people who put themselves out there so freely and so publicly.

Conversations with friends who would soon appear on the covers of magazines like Honcho, Inches and Playguy opened my eyes to the idea that money wasn’t the primary motivation to undress for the camera - if it was a motivation at all.

For me, something deeper was showing itself. Both from the models as well as from the people behind the shoots. They were defying the programming around social and sexual mores and getting turned on doing it.

In this collection the aluminum substrate gives permanence to that exhilaration and play, unselfconscious and shame free. A real person with their own story and desires. Not just a prurient act, but the feeling of being alive that comes from being seen. At that moment there is nowhere else they would rather be.

A computer screen offers bright glossy images. Here, the metal is flat, less illuminated, very slightly textured, and honest. The sizes are a zoom in on the original image, tens or hundreds times larger than a laptop or phone. The image - that thrill - is in the room with us.

I celebrate people. My role was a mixture of coach and documentarian. Celebrating individuals for reveling in being seen and connecting them with an audience who wanted to see them. These prints offer a window to a world beneath the sheets. Like minded people motivating each other to indulge in who they are with unapologetic enthusiasm and triumph.

- Andy Fair
Winter 2024