John Hurrell – 26 February, 2021

Five heavily textured intaglio etchings of naked and semi-naked men are presented by Luca Nicholas in Visions, four of them—based on Grindr (online dating) downloads—being subtly tinted via chine-collé. They are vaguely reminiscent of early Hockney. Not so linear; more hatching.

The largest work is not derived from Grindr at all but features decorative bedroom furnishings and a figure resting on his stomach on a bed. The result is comical. His top half is completely hidden, leaving in the centre his dark crotch-covering shorts, and accentuating a strange foreshortening of his left leg—especially his swollen calf and (almost disembodied) bulbous foot that hovers alarmingly close to the viewer. A grid of tonally-controlled tartans dominates, on the descending bedspread.

Three of the lustier Grindr shots seem to feature bed or bathroom interiors as backdrops to the figures, but the larger fourth is a close up of a torso with a hand coyly positioned over the genitals. Its bodily proximity (with hairy forearms and stomach) is slightly unnerving. It is very intimate and Nicholas knows how to effortlessly manipulate spatial depth.

The two large works have a warm friendly intimacy and avoid a strident voyeurism by playing with notions of obstructing the gaze. The smaller ones are about introductions and body types, fishing for interest and potential physical contact or friendship.

Unlike Hockney these images have a specific purpose and don’t feature ‘dead’ domestic time with blokes sitting around in chairs, yakking. These guys are lonely or horny, and keen to connect within a suburban community.

The way the images are made is hugely different from photography, and so transcends social media, for its emphasis is on blocks of controlled light/darkness and densely packed criss-crossing lines with patterns of textures that you have to experience directly. Nicholas‘s techniques are several hundred years old. It is enthralling to see that methodology rejuvenated.

John Hurrell

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