Tom of Finland
Leather Guards T-shirt
£35
A screen printed t-shirt featuring the work of Tom of Finland
Dimensions
Available in S, M, L, XL, XXL
Finishing
Screen print on 100% organic cotton
Tom of Finland, 'Untitled', 1962. From the Atlantic Model Guild 'The Tattooed Sailor' series. © 1962 Tom of Finland Foundation.Courtesy the Tom of Finland Foundation
About The Artwork
The most enduring of Tom's works are his drawings of bikers and leathermen. Inspired by Marlon Brando in ‘The Wild Ones’ (1953), the artist combined leather-clad bikers with his fetish for police and army uniforms, establishing an iconic gay look. Adopting the tight jeans, caps, and boots of working and military men as part of his aesthetic, the artist appropriated signifiers of class and machismo as symbols of sexuality itself. His images of bikers clad in leather chaps and uniformed cops both inspired and drew from nascent leather and muscle scenes, later influencing figures such as Freddie Mercury, Jean Paul Gaultier and Robert Mapplethorpe. Unabashedly pornographic, Tom of Finland’s “dirty drawings” were previously characterised as erotica, primarily finding institutional recognition after his death. However, his masterfully rendered images of gay men were revolutionary at a time when homosexuality was still considered a crime – offering affirmation and transgressing prevalent tropes of masculinity.
About Tom of Finland
Tom of Finland (Touko Laaksonen, 1920-1991) is recognised for his ground-breaking representation of the male figure. A master draughtsman, Tom’s passion for both his medium and his subject matter enabled him to become a powerful cultural force. Tom gave form to an imaginative universe that, in turn, helped fuel real-world liberation movements and enabled gay men to access their strength in new ways. Tom’s drawings reaffirm the centrality of sexuality, joy, and the body in all areas of human endeavour.
In recent years there has been a significant re-evaluation of his artistic practice. Previously somewhat dismissed as only of gay interest, his work has since been exhibited in galleries and public institutions (David Kordansky, LA; ICA, London; Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Artists Space, New York). His work is in the permanent collections of The Museum of Modern Art, New York; Museum of Contemporary Art Kiasma, Helsinki; Art Institute of Chicago; Los Angeles County Museum of Art; and San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.