The Measure of a Man*

2019/2021, digital photography, diptych, 3.5 x 4 cm, 1 mm Polystyrol Mounting, Fujicolor Print, 60 x 80 x 1.6 cm coated wood, halogen lamp

In this work, I confront the persistent influence of toxic masculinity and its fixation on physical standards—specifically, the fetishization and symbolic weight assigned to penis size. Drawing from the pervasive messages of (social) media and the (gay) porn industry, I reflect on how male-identifying individuals are often pressured to gauge their self-worth through rigid, and ultimately harmful, ideals of masculinity.

The photographic series presents black-and-white self-portraits, showing the act of measuring my own body with a tape measure. These images are printed in a deliberately small format and mounted on a miniature wall, encouraging viewers to engage with them closely and intimately through the use of a 4x loupe. This mode of display—scaling down what is often hyper-visible or fetishized—asks viewers to reconsider how size, scrutiny, and shame operate in the construction of male identity.

By requiring an optical tool to view the images in detail, the installation foregrounds the act of inspection itself. It creates a tension between voyeurism and critique, magnification and minimization, visibility and vulnerability. The work invites reflection on how bodies are surveilled, compared, and consumed—while simultaneously reclaiming agency through exposure and self-representation.

Photos: Niko Havranek & Daniel Hill