From “The Art of Sexual Outlaws” at PDN Photo of the Day:
Presented by ClampArt and Ward 5B, the exhibition “Sex Crimes” explores underground imagery that was made in response to western countries’ draconian laws outlawing sexual relations between consenting adults of the same gender. Known as Crimes Against Nature, Unnatural Acts, and Sex Crimes, the laws have led to mass incarceration, institutionalization, conversion therapy, public shaming, familial rejection, and the “wholesale death of gay people,” states the press release.
The images in “Sex Crimes,” aimed primarily at gay men, were often produced in the shadow of illegality. Creators faced harassment, arrest or imprisonment if caught. Many artists in the show were punished by authorities for their sexual preference. Once produced the artworks became part of a subterranean art circle and were passed clandestinely from person to person.