Review: Raw Youth by Jay Diers
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Jay Diers
Published by: Bruno Gmunder
Reviewed by: Steven J Watson
Raw Youth is predominantly a book of male nudes. Some naked, some clothed, the models lie on beds or sofas, or stand with the casual arrogance of youth. Some meet the camera’s gaze while others seem oblivious to its intrusion; one masturbates, his hand a furious blur, while another reclines, smiling, fresh semen pooled on his stomach. These are candid, intimate images, buzzing with the sexuality and promise of youth.
The question, though, is one of intention. These pictures are erotic, certainly, but Diers clearly sees them as belonging on the coffee table rather than in the bottom drawer. On looking at them one cannot help but first think of the raw, confessional portraits of Nan Goldin, or even Larry Clark, whose work Dier obviously admires. But where those photographers’ seemingly casual, almost snapshot, style in fact documented a whole subculture of drag queens and drug-takers, Diers work rarely delves deeper than the surface, than what is directly in front of him. On only a couple of the images do we get a glimpse of who these boys are, of the lives they lead. In one shot two boys embrace passionately, yet it is the glimpse of the outside world, the river and freeway seen through the window above the bed, that gives them context. In another blurred, black and white shot the model smokes, scratching his head absent mindedly, looking as if he has genuinely forgotten that Diers’ lens is there. Tellingly, it is often these least overtly explicit images that work best.
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Steven J Watson lives and works in London. He is currently working on his first novel as well as numerous short stories, and writes regular columns for several magazines. He can be contacted at stevenjwatson@gmail.com
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