the very first time i saw the video london-based photographer/director toyin ibidapo created for kim jones' fall-winter 2003/04 presentation (nicola formichetti styled) i've been totally fascinated by her aesthetics. toyin, as she usually calls herself, is a regular contributor to dazed&confused and a woman behind the 'cult of boys' project. her imagery and films explore the complicated topic of young boys' beauty and their perception of own personality and presense. traditionally supported by etherial yet dark sounds by dannish music artist martin juel 'doi', these shorts create atmosphere of humbliness and insecurity modern youth experiences so much. as toyin puts it in interview by showstudio's penny martin:i'm obsessed by beautiful boys, boys who are effeminate but don't necessarily know it. androgyny is intriguing to me. it's an incredibly distinctive look that a lot of straight men can't handle.
the boys i photograph, the chosen ones!, need to be able to project this, to show the world that there's something special about the way they look. they've got to stir up those special feelings, let me observe their teenage years, their puberty, provoke questions. is he in the prime of his beauty? how will he grow? what will he be like in a couple of years? will he maintain what he has now?'being a huge fan, i've collected toyin's works for some time. her dark, thought-provoking, sensual depiction of broken beauty is everything someone like me may ask for.
toyin's films can be found here