Strange (?) Love.

©2007 Jai Lennard. All Rights Reserved.

        Niya here: During my original reading of  Daniel Bergner’s The Other Side of Desire, and my subsequent blog post on the topic of strange, I wanted to analyze others interpretations of the word "strange". It was not long after my internet surfing that I came across the online photo exhibition titled Strange Love by Jai Lennard. The series, which was produced sometime in 2007 includes seven different subtopics includes titles such as Childhood, Domesticated, Women at Work, and the self titled Strange Love.

©2007 Jai Lennard. All Rights Reserved.

        Browsing through Lennard’s work the aura of sexuality is undeniable. While some photos are much more conspicuous in sexual tones, some of the photos truly call into question what is sexual, and to whom.  Each photo takes on its own life, determined to validate itself, and in some ways accept its own sexuality. My favorite subset, Domesticated includes five photos varying in every aspect possible from location, subject, gender, and sexual overtone. It seems Lennard was able to find the raw sexuality in the most mundane positions and locations.  The range of aggressiveness, or passiveness in each photo really question what can be considered conventional, and why.

      

©2007 Jai Lennard. All Rights Reserved

         I would strongly encourage everyone to check out all of the work by Jai Lennard. Be warned, some of the images are quite graphic, but well worth it. His work speaks strongly and soundly and every person to question their own limits of normalcy.