NSA/DFM • New drawings and zine by Xavier Schipani • July 25th - August 24th, 2014
No Strings Attached/Disease Free Male is a body of work about scopophilia, the homosexual male gaze and cruising in the digital age. It is an ongoing project about the relationships and sexual encounters between men. Xavier has participated as a spectator only in this project using e-mail correspondence and dating/hook-up sites like grindr and scruff. His on-line profile changed several times over the course of two months in order to explore the different roles, types and sexual desires of those who were “looking”. What became clear to him about these sites was that the nature of its use was more of a fixation, or a transaction producing obsessive behavior and almost a primal energy. The term “looking” alludes to the “gaze” and places it in an active arena.
Xavier’s interest in themes of masculinity and desire are driven by his transition from female to male. He is fascinated by the idea of masculinity existing without a biological male present and how gender blending can bend the self in the eyes of others.
His experience in this world as a voyeur and interested party has empowered him to shift from being gazed at to being a part of the collective “male gaze”. Living as both male and female has given him a powerful perspective on roles and energy, sexually and otherwise. He plans to continue to explore these themes and document them in different ways.
www.instagram.com/xavierschipani/
Xavier’s interest in themes of masculinity and desire are driven by his transition from female to male. He is fascinated by the idea of masculinity existing without a biological male present and how gender blending can bend the self in the eyes of others.
His experience in this world as a voyeur and interested party has empowered him to shift from being gazed at to being a part of the collective “male gaze”. Living as both male and female has given him a powerful perspective on roles and energy, sexually and otherwise. He plans to continue to explore these themes and document them in different ways.
www.instagram.com/xavierschipani/
