Dean Stockings | The Hoist

WE HAVE COME A LONG WAY IN THE PROCESS OF EMANCIPATION. FOR DECADES WE HAVE FOUGHT FOR EQUAL RIGHTS AND TREATMENT. WE WANT TO BE THE SAME AS OUR STRAIGHT BROTHERS AND SISTERS. AND RIGHTFULLY SO. BUT THERE ARE ASPECTS TO OUR GAY LIFE THAT ARE DIFFERENT, AND PROBABLY SHOULD STAY AS SUCH.

One of the perks of begin gay is that we have allowed ourselves the freedom to explore the edges of sexual experiences and enjoy our deepest and darkest fantasies with each other. Not seldom outside the safe limits of our bedrooms. Like no other demographic group, we gay men have created opportunities for ourselves where we can play and delve into sexual freedom under an unofficial no-tell policy. It is fun. It is exciting. And I even dare to say it is necessary.

Dean Stockings is the kind of photographer who is known for some things, but capable of so many others. Dean is known for his happy, colourful portraits of handsome and sexy guys, often in a context that makes you smile and feel good. But there is more to Dean than just that. As he already showed with his self published book Sofa So Naked, in which he portrays both celebrities as ordinary people naked confined within the safe walls of their homes, surrounded with what makes it their homes. And now Dean goes even a step further, bringing those people outside their sanctuary into a much darker dwelling.

Vauxhall is an inner city area of Central London in the London Borough of Lambeth. Once the historic county of Surrey, Vauxhall has over the past decennia become home to an ever-increasing number of gay bars and nightclubs. One of the places that has gained popularity over the years is The Hoist. Dark and silent The Hoist is waiting for you in the heart of Vauxhall. It welcomes you and encourages you to reveal your deepest desires. A strict dress code identifies the clientele who feel at home in The Hoist, but don’t let this scare you away. It is all part of the game and the adventure that awaits you. The Hoist is also the place that Dean Stockings selected for his latest photographic endeavour. With carefully selected models Dean went to this dark gay club in London to immortalize a scene that is a privilege of the gay community. His photos are dark and gritty, showing desire and temptation without revealing anything else. They leave little to the imagination, and then again they don’t show too much. A perfect built scene  of eroticism and sexuality that proofs for once and for all that Dean Stockings is a man of many talents. –BM-

With thanks to The Hoist, London.

DEAN STOCKINGS | BEAUTIFULMAG

Comments

[kalalaumango]

it would be wonderful if gay men or queer people still celebrated their differences and learned from them compared to the last decade of a cheap brothel that had the limitations of contemporary pigalle. there is much depth to an area you're addressing, but it becomes more involved than complicated as the excuse that some simpleminded people would attempt to use in avoiding their prejudice and bigotry. lovely.