I Kissed A Boy and I Liked It ! -XVI Print

Analogue collage exploring the thematic of masculinity . The artwork is placed in a passepartout frame. The size of the work (40cm x 30 cm ) refer to the work on the frame . Please look the pictures . "I Kissed A Boy And I liked it!" is an ongoing project by Cork-based multimedia artist Silvio Severino exploring masculinity via collage of found images in both analogue and digital media. The spectrum of male iconography is examined—from machismo stereotypes to homoerotic expression—refracted through a range of realist, surrealist and abstract visions. Silvio is particularly interested in exploring how maleness is represented in contemporary media. Using images torn from print media—including sources ranging from books to male magazines—Silvio deconstructs and re-assembles representations of the male body. Detaching visual gestures from the original images provides a platform for interrogating the intentions of both the original creator of the image and it’s intended viewers. Current widespread social criticism of masculinity—in it’s toxic and destructive forms—provides a rich milieu for Silvio's intense reflections on these topics via a queer gaze, as gay man born and raised in conservative, hyper-macho Brazilian society. Pop culture is a frequent reference and starting point throughout Silvio's work. Thus, the exhibition title, "I Kissed a boy and I liked it, " derives from the lyric and video of the single, “Samaritans,” by Bristol-based punk band Idles—a song also reflecting on men’s masks of masculinity.