Sex. Smut. Sleaze. It's all in a day's work for photographer Justin Monroe. While the likes of David LaChapelle have been hogging the artistic limelight for God knows how long, Monroe has been slowly working underground to build a bigger, better, trashier portfolio than his arch rivals. And now he's all set to explode with the ultimate money shot; a 160-page photo-book entitled 'Down The Rabbit Hole'. As his debut into the world of mainstream photography, you'd expect Monroe to tread carefully. But he doesn't. Far from it, in fact. The controversial book is testament to the same no-holding-back philosophy that snagged Monroe publicity in the first place, and features more porn than that found underneath Hugh Hefner's desk. It's all very homoerotic, with oiled-up muscle boys in teeny-weeny pants and settings so camp they'd make Elton John's very own boudoir look butch. But that's the point of Monroe's photography; it brings the underground up, the taboo to light and the censored to the forefront of commercial art. It's hard to believe that this boy from America's Mid-West ended up peddling these kind of erotic, sexually-charged, gender-bender images. Then again, those who have grown up in conformist environments are usually the worst. Just look at Catholic girls. It's usually them who are snorting coke and shagging around, not the poor old Essex girls. And it's the same with Monroe; having moved to LA, the photographer was free to be edgy and experimental and offend who he damn well pleased. The result? His most accomplished portfolio of work yet. Just like Alice In Wonderland (after which it is named), Monroe's photo-book takes us on a twisted, fucked-up journey into a foreign land where life-size dolls and stiletto sex abound. He's even enlisted the help of outrageous supermodel Janice Dickinson (as well as a groupie of other talented models, stylists and creative directors) to create the wickedly depraved tome. Certainly, it's not something you'd leave on the coffee table when your grandma comes round for tea (unless, of course, she's into cock-shots). All hail the new king of surrealist sleaze; camp just got a whole lot cooler.
www.justinmonroe.com / Images: Justin Monroe