Fotograf Magazine

Eroticism and sex make a rewarding subject for anyone who can manage not only to enjoy his physical arousal, but who at the same time can enthusiastically create an artistic record inspired by his sense of enchantment with the world of physical pleasure.

In the photographs of Dzmitry Kruhlou, eroticism is recorded in a closed room whose intimacy is a pre-requisite for the creation of erotic situations, no matter if the person is alone or not. The level of solitude or of erotic communication with another person directs the author’s attention to different segments of reality. When with a loved one, he is guided by a momentary sense of tenderness. He communicates with her, watches her, undresses, sees her in intimate poses of subtle physical sensuality, performing everyday routines, during the private celebration of free time. The sequence of automatically recorded moments which he spends with her naturally also includes erotic moments. Their sexual tension is subdued by a focus on detail – Kruhlou focuses his attention on the colour of the décor, on toy-style props, on clothing.

Paradoxically, Kruhlou creates much more aroused images in moments of solitary intimate communication with his own freedom. With an extremism approaching that of Oleg Kulik and through exhibitionist gestures and bizarre poses, he comes to terms with his physical essence, which he suddenly sees derisively and painfully. This scepticism towards the natural quality of the libido is incomprehensible in the presence of one’s beloved.

The title of the open series ERO – DICK – ON can be understood as follows: ERO stands for the erotic moment; DICK is a slang reference to the denigration of physicality as an exclusive tool of erotic arousal. As a slang term bordering on vulgarity, it represents the quotidian and the banal. ON means turned on – also in the sense of capturing the erotic moment by turning on the camera and clicking the shutter release. ON is a confirmation of being aware of what is important.

Dzmitry Kruhlou’s erotic photographs and videos are not of a documentary character. They are not studies of the body. They are extremely personal records of an atmosphere, of a shy or expansive and erotic tension. They are more like experiences than photographs, much like the work of Adam Holý or Pierre Dauguin: In most images, the erotic relationship is felt more deeply as a result of the lack of arrangement of events and environments. Through their rawness reminiscent of amateur home videos or banal intimate snapshots, his images evoke a sense of voyeurism in the viewer.

The artist Dzmitry Kruhlou, born in 1974 in Belarus, works with photography, video and performance art. A graduate of the Film School in Zlín, Czech Republic, he is currently studying at the Institute of Creative Photography at the Faculty of Philosophy and Science of the Silesian University in Opava.

Boris Levin