Wedgies

Wedgies, Baron's latest book, documents the wedgie subculture - through the lens of photographer Benjamin Fredrickson - for the artist's debut book. This series, created over four years, shows male subjects positioned and given extreme or “atomic” wedgies (where underwear is pulled up above the subjects' heads). As an avid participant in the scene, Fredrickson is uniquely positioned as an insider. His works go beyond documentation, to possess a charge that accompanies the artist's pleasure. He receives many requests from future participants, via social media, and is supported by the wedgie community. The agency of the sitters, is crucial to Fredrickson's work, as they help to co-construct by asserting their self-hood. Fredrickson's photographs go beyond the physical, and affirm the artistic potential of collaboration— the images are born from the sitters and photographer coming together. Moreover, since Fredrickson is the one giving the wedgies (either with his own hands, or using a series of elaborate contraptions to hold the underwear up), the images are shot from the dominant partner's perspective. Sometimes, the photographer's shoes or trouser are visible in the shots, and this can lend the images a POV perspective that invites the viewer to ogle the bodies and wedgies on display, and to become a third participant in the dynamic. The subjects face away from the viewer and remain anonymous, and the focus is concentrated on the stretched underwear and the form of the sitters' bodies. Fredrickson states, "For this project, the body is used as a prop to make the wedgie shine. The wedgie is the work". Since the ass is the vehicle for the wedgie, it is naturally a focal point for the images. Butts have occupied a prevalent visual role throughout history. Fredrickson approaches the ass with a distinctly queer subjectivity. Benjamin Fredrickson (b. Minneapolis, MN, USA, 1980) is a New York City-based photographer whose images centre around queer fetish subculture.