One man’s discarded skivvies, is another man’s work of art!
Brazilian artist Jonathas de Andrade is getting people’s panties in a bunch and bringing out the underwear fetish in art lovers with a sex-positive installation at the The Armory Show in New York City.
According to Artnet, the project in question is entitled “Olho-faísca/spark eye” and consists of a slew of underwear left behind by Andrade’s male lovers over the years.
The colorful display includes 68 pairs of tighty-whities, bikini briefs, and boxers that are vacuum-sealed and presented as if they were on sale at a store. Coincidentally, the entire collection can be all yours for $50,000, which comes out to $735 per piece of underwear. Your Charlie briefs could never!
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After being inspired by his ex-lovers’ cast-offs, Andrade bought a vacuum sealing machine (and hopefully washed all the undergarments) and has presented the installation in France and Portugal prior to bringing it to the Big Apple.
“The piece gets a lot of attention. People ask a lot of questions, like ‘did he have all these lovers?'” Daniel Roesler, partner at the New York and Brazil-based Nara Roesler gallery, told the outlet.
But Andrade, who we might add is handsome as hell, is keeping it on the DL as far how many ex-boyfriends were involved with the project or how long it took to collect the 68 pairs of unmentionables. Never kiss and tell!
On a deeper level, the work offers various interpretations. Are the remnants left behind symbolic of the artist’s sadness over the failed relationships? Or is it a sign of queer liberation especially amid the rise of anti-LGBTQ+ sentiment in the US, Brazil and across the world.
“It’s very much about desire and the gaze on the male body,” Roesler said of the piece. “I see him [Andrade] as more of an explorer, living life to the fullest—very open about it and very proud.”
This isn’t the first time the 41-year-old artist has been inspired by male intimacy and forgotten apparel.
Back in 2020, Andrade made clay sculptures of body parts which he outfitted with a collection of men’s Speedo bathing suits found in the dressing rooms of various pools in Brazil over the course of a decade.
Andrade was previously picked to represent Brazil at the 2022 Venice Biennial and has had solo shows at Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, the Power Plant in Toronto, Museo Jumex in Mexico City, and Museu de Arte do Rio in Rio de Janeiro.
In addition, two of his films were recently acquired by New York’s Museum of Modern Art.
While Andrade is clearly a talented artist, his latest work may have his future boyfriends keeping a close watch on their Calvins.
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bachy
I love de Andrade’s current and previous work as shown in the article. Both pieces are provocative on an erotic level, but I can also see them as capturing a significant statement about gay culture at this particular point in human history.
Wiki: Antinous.
Man About Town
My question isn’t “Did he have all these lovers?” but rather “Did he have that many one-night stands who needed to get the hell outta there so quickly they didn’t even bother with grabbing their underwear?”
Brian
Psst: It’s a gimmick. He bought the underwear with plain old cash, and now he’s reselling with a 10,000% markup.
nm4047
68 doesn’t seem that many, excluding those that arrived commando why would so many leave their (often referenced as their lucky) undies. Seems to be a lot of maybe 1 of guests that just got the hell out of there.
Kangol2
So sorry I missed seeing this at the Armory Show. Looking at Andrade, I can see how he easily amassed enough lovers and their underwear for this exhbit and other projects.
winemaker
Who in their right mind would pay $50K for 68 pairs of used undies? ‘Am I missing something here or what?. This reminds me of the ads years ago in many of the gay newspapers of guys who sold their clean used underwear, cum stains and tracks and stink extra, to unsuspecting idiots with more money than common sense. Evidently there are people out there with more money than brains that prove the old adage ‘ There’s a sucker born every minute’. I can’t stop laughing at something like this that sadly is real. Hey to each his own, or whatever.
strap2900
Many men are turned on by worn underwear. I have traded worn underwear with various guys over the years, but it was with guys I knew, not strangers. That, I don’t understand.
Brian
Agreed! My ex and I used to trade underwear. If I stayed at his place, he’d keep my pair. And then when he stayed at my place, I’d keep his. Just for a week or so, until the next round of laundry, and then we’d return everything and start again.
However, this isn’t that. This “artist” is buying underwear from stores and then reselling. No men wore them.
MilkyMike69
Where does the ‘hopyfully washed’ before sealing come from? Leaving aside protection/privacy of the former-owner’s-dna, I can see no potential harm in unwashed sealed xx-months-old briefs. Whatever possibly lived in the fabric is long gone, and/or is sealed away, anyway.
En contraire, for me, these ‘leftovers’ would have to be unwashed to have any right to bear the title ‘art’