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Book review: Some Want Quietly

Excruciatingly intimate.

There’s a few things you should know about Some Want Quietly straight up.

One: only 100 copies have been made.

Two: it’s beautifully shot on 35mm film.

Three: it features a penis.

An accompaniment to an exhibition of the same name, Some Want Quietly is the work of Melbourne artist, Drew Pettifer. It features 34 excruciatingly intimate images of young Japanese men in various states of vulnerability. Hence the penis.

Its aim is to explore codes of masculinity and gender that exist in contemporary Japanese society. In some ways this is obvious: one image shows two men arm wrestling in their jocks (ugh, boys), while other images are more subtle.

The product of two months, 800 frames and long-formed relationships, Some Want Quietly is a considered, provocative and beautiful work.

drewpettifer.com

This review was originally published in Fashion Journal issue 155. You can read the full issue here.

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