Raquel Ferreirinha
masc
In response to the amplification of patriarchy’s most toxic elements, masc explores genuine expressions of masculinity rooted in care, vulnerability, and self-expression.
The man smoking - suit-clad, indifferent to the camera, in stark surroundings - embodies a familiar archetype of “successful masculinity.” He reminds me of my family’s elders: guarded, armored by formality, revealing little. Masked. As the mother of a 12-year-old boy, I feel impotent against the spread of extreme patriarchal values in mainstream discourse, the rise of the so-called “manosphere.”
This ongoing project is my quiet protest, a celebration of diverse masculinity, personhood, and role models. The photographs are simple yet deliberate. I preserved the original’s formal elements and invited the sitters to choose their settings; intimate spaces where their identities shine through objects and gestures. Much like the found photo, they engage with the camera on their own terms.
Featuring:
1: Vytautas B. (he/him)
2: Christopher M. (he/him)
3: Roberto M. (he/him)
4: Karim T. (he/him)
5: Beck S. (they/them)
6: Clemente C. (he/him)
7. Chloé P. (they/them)
8. Flaviu N. (he/him)
"To create loving men, we must love males. Loving maleness is different from praising and rewarding males for living up to sexist-defined notions of male identity. Caring about men because of what they do for us is not the same as loving males for simply being. When we love maleness, we extend our love whether males are performing or not. Performance is different from simply being. In patriarchal culture males are not allowed simply to be who they are and to glory in their unique identity. Their value is always determined by what they do. In an anti-patriarchal culture males do not have to prove their value and worth. They know from birth that simply being gives them value, the right to be cherished and loved."bell hooks, The Will to Change: Men, Masculinity, and Love
Raquel Ferreirinha (b. 1984) is a Portuguese visual artist based in Copenhagen, Denmark. Through her practice, Raquel honours and elevates the everyday. Acknowledging that the personal is - as much as ever - political, Raquel’s work shines a light on the shared textures of the in-between life that brings us together in what seems to be an increasingly polarised world.