Trophy Men

[The following is a compiled interview between myself and ChatGPT on this topic]

This series captures a unique intersection of queer desire, technological experimentation, and artistic critique. It began with curiosity: how might AI interpret the male form? Using AI technology designed to convert photos into 3D models, I uploaded images of traditionally masculine men—figures I naturally gravitate towards as a gay man. The results were surprising: abstracted, glitchy, and oddly beautiful, these "trophy-like" figures felt both alien and familiar.

"The abstraction of the male form to its bare minimum gave permission to the viewer to not worry about the agency of the individual and now see it as an 'objet du désir.' It's supercharged objectification, decoupling the original high-quality photo of a random hot guy in a JPEG to now these smoothed-out chrome depictions of men in 3D."

While these works celebrate the male form, they also critique the way objectification operates, particularly within gay male culture. "I've always been critical of how objectification works in gay male culture—it's toxic and reduces everyone down to meat sacks on parade. But at the same time, I'd be lying to say that desire isn’t part of my human nature. One of the joys of being queer is this duality and navigating it."

The process itself added another layer of critique. The AI-generated models are glitchy, with distorted anatomies and unfinished forms, reflecting the technology’s infancy. "It’s a parlour trick now, a very weird and morally questionable one, but what's down the road? Will we be OK with uploading a hot guy JPEG and getting back a 3D model so accurate it’s essentially a mirror version of their likeness?"

For now, the chrome figures stand as a snapshot of this moment in time—a journal entry in a larger investigation of identity, agency, and desire. While they’re a reflection on the objectifying gaze, they also celebrate the enduring potency of queer attraction. "Even abstracted male forms can take on a heightened sense of queer desirability. The reduction of the form somehow amplifies their allure, turning them into symbols of universal attraction.