A collection of imagery illustrating intimacy within all-male team sports culture.*

"I never watched sports growing up, beyond passing by the living room when my dad did. As I came of age and started exploring my own sexuality, I was surprised by the intimacy shared within all-male team sports. Things might be different now, but I used to associate all-male group sports with a certain 'locker room' homophobia. Is there a correlation between the intimacy of straight/homosocial male environments and homophobia, a way to be close without sex entering the picture? And then there is, of course, my own queer reading of this intimacy. This project reminds me that we must all be aware of the assumptions and chasms in meaning that we partake in when communicating with one another. In short, it reminds me of the 'Ecstasy of Communication' that all human beings must navigate."

*These photographs have been printed onto 3mm aluminum/Dibond composite panels, 50cm x 50cm.

Mr. Ireland does not make a profit from the sale of his books as his goal is to share his work with as wide as possible of an audience.