On reflection: a mystery photographer’s strangely sensual selfies from 1966 come to light

A man takes a picture of himself: he stands proudly, arms behind his back, head turned towards the camera, mouth slightly open. The lines of his body are soft, in contrast to the rigid angles of the architecture and brickwork in the backdrop. He is wearing a women’s g-string, frilled at the crotch, flip flops, and sunglasses.
All that is known about this unusual photograph – one of a series of 28 self-portraits in which the anonymous model/photographer dons an array of women’s underwear and swimwear, accessoried at times with sunglasses, and socks worn with loafers or beaten-up sneakers, assuming poses that are sometimes banal, sometimes vulnerable, and hardly conventionally erotic – is that they were taken in November, 1966.
'Untitled, November 1966', artist unknown
The reason this unidentified photographer took this series of pictures of himself – and for whom – remains a mystery. Was this a private performance for the camera, or one that was intended to be seen, an erotic gift for a lover, or a secret experiment, a one-off flirtation with cross-dressing? Were they intended to be seen? It’s all part of their strange sensuality.
Five decades on, these enigmatic photographs are now in public, hanging on the walls of Blum & Poe gallery in Los Angeles, thanks to Jason Brinkerhoff, an artist who has worked extensively in recent years with outsider photography, carefully sourcing anonymous archives and elevating images that might not have been considered art – even by their creators.
'Untitled, November 1966', artist unknown
'The thing that struck me most was the ambiguity of the pictures, I still can’t really understand what is going on or why this guy made these pictures,' Brinkerhoff explains. 'They’re strange and masculine and I personally don’t read them as homoerotic although many people do. He seems a bit of loner to me, acting out on the rooftop. There’s a lot of ego in the pictures. When I first saw them they reminded me immediately of Martin Kippenberger – his antics – the giant self-portrait of him in his underwear.'
The closest we get to this mystery man is in a picture shot at near range, in which he reclines in barely-there underwear, eyes narrowed and gazing vaguely towards his own lens, hair swept back. The allure of these 50-year-old pictures is in this paradoxical tension, sharing these intimate moments with a complete stranger.
The twenty-eight images at hand show a shirtless man, alone on a rooftop, donning a variety of women’s bikini briefs and underwear
He is seen from multiple vantage points – some poses unassuming and others uninhibited – all the while an undercurrent of 1960s experimental, sexual whimsy pervades
Installation view of 'November, 1966' at Blum & Poe
From nearly every corner of the roof stage, we are presented with a panoramic view of the photographer’s performance
INFORMATION
’November 1966’ is on view until 17 December. For more information, please visit the Blum & Poe website
ADDRESS
Blum & Poe
2727 La Cienega Boulevard
Los Angeles
Wallpaper* Newsletter
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox.
Charlotte Jansen is a journalist and the author of two books on photography, Girl on Girl (2017) and Photography Now (2021). She is commissioning editor at Elephant magazine and has written on contemporary art and culture for The Guardian, the Financial Times, ELLE, the British Journal of Photography, Frieze and Artsy. Jansen is also presenter of Dior Talks podcast series, The Female Gaze.
-
Vestre’s neo-brutalist furniture will bring ‘a little madness’ to Paris Fashion Week
Bound for Paris Men’s Fashion Week this month, Norwegian furniture brand Vestre reveals a sculptural bench and mirror created with designer Vincent Laine and fashion creative Willy Cartier – the latest outcome of its risk-taking ‘a little madness’ initiative
-
For its latest runway show, Zegna creates a serene oasis in Dubai
The Italian fashion house took over the Dubai Opera for a S/S 2026 show that proposed a lived-in elegance, drawing inspiration from Dubai’s sunbaked landscapes and Zegna’s birthplace of Trivero
-
Time-travel to the golden age of the cruise ship at Sea Containers London
The South Bank hotel celebrates its tenth anniversary with four new suites inspired by period cabin design, from Edwardian elegance to 1980s glamour
-
Photographer Geordie Wood takes a leap of faith with first film, Divers
Geordie Wood delved into the world of professional diving in Fort Lauderdale for his first film
-
New book celebrates 100 years of New York City landmarks where LGBTQ+ history took place
Marc Zinaman’s ‘Queer Happened Here: 100 Years of NYC’s Landmark LGBTQ+ Places’ is a vital tribute to queer culture
-
A major Takashi Murakami exhibition sees the world in kaleidoscopic colour
The Cleveland Art Museum presents 'Takashi Murakami 'Stepping on the Tail of a Rainbow', exploring outrage and escapist fantasy
-
Ai Weiwei’s new public installation is coming soon to Four Freedoms State Park
‘Camouflage’ by Ai Weiwei will launch the inaugural Art X Freedom project in September 2025, a new programme to investigate social justice and freedom
-
Leonard Baby's paintings reflect on his fundamentalist upbringing, a decade after he left the church
The American artist considers depression and the suppressed queerness of his childhood in a series of intensely personal paintings, on show at Half Gallery, New York
-
Unlike the gloriously grotesque imagery in his films, Yorgos Lanthimos’ photographs are quietly beautiful
An exhibition at Webber Gallery in Los Angeles presents Yorgos Lanthimos’ photography
-
Desert X 2025 review: a new American dream grows in the Coachella Valley
Will Jennings reports from the epic California art festival. Here are the highlights
-
Cowboys and Queens: Jane Hilton's celebration of culture on the fringes
Photographer Jane Hilton captures cowboy and drag queen culture for a new exhibition and book