Men's Nipples

It's Okay They're Men's Nipples (abstract), Chaz Howkins, 2018, acrylic and photo collage on canvas

These are MEN's nipples, don't you worry, no need to censor.

It's Okay, They're Men's Nipples

It's Okay They're Men's Nipples, Chaz Howkins, 2018, photographic paper collage

A collage of nipples but it's OKAY everyone, they're MEN'S nipples NOT women's so there is NO NEED to censor!!!!!!!!!!!

Photo collages

Ambiguity Collage, Chaz Howkins, 2016, photo collage

I created a series of physically manipulated photo collages to represent a conflict of identities and to present the viewer with an ambiguous image in an attempt to frustrate the viewer as they try to identify the gender of the subject.

Photographic Collage

Confusion, Chaz Howkins, 2016, photographic collage

My intention was to create a confusing image which distracts the viewer from questioning the gender of the subject immediately.  I used physical methods of photo manipulation and collage so that I would have a more personal connection with the piece and so the manipulation wasn't as subtle as if it were done digitally.

Manipulated Portraits

Torn Apart, Chaz Howkins, 2016, photo collage

Further collaging of Charlotte and Chad to represent hiding an alternative identity but having it show through.

Manipulated Portraits

Crossover 1, Chaz Howkins, 2016, photo manipulation

Crossover 2, Chaz Howkins, 2016, photo manipulation

Crossover Sections, Chaz Howkins, 2016, photo manipulation

I collaged images of Charlotte and Chad to represent an internal conflict of identity and to explore the extent to which you can cross over features of characters of different genders before their gender is questioned.

Photographic Collages

Charlie Collage, Chaz Howkins, 2015, photographic collage

Charlie Collage 2, Chaz Howkins, 2015, photographic collage

Faces, Chaz Howkins, 2015, photographic collage

Faces 2, Chaz Howkins, 2015, photographic collage

Faces 3, Chaz Howkins, 2015, photographic collage

I realised that in a lot of my work so far, I have accidentally been reinforcing the idea of gender as binary, which I don't agree with - and my initial intention was to explore the idea of gender as a spectrum.  Many of my initial ideas related to the idea of 'Chaz vs Chad' (myself and my male alter ego) however I feel this is far too restrictive and binary so I will now be exploring myself as Charlie as this covers all genders rather than just two.

In the first two collages (Charlie Collage 1 & 2) I used various images of myself as a range genders.  My intention was to create confusing images which make the viewer question the gender of the subject, to which I would respond, does it matter?  I find it fascinating how frustrated people can get when they can't work out someone's gender.

In the next three collages I included images of myself and of other people (males) to make the images even more confusing.  However I prefer the Charlie collages as they involve a level of self exploration making them far more personal than the Faces collages.