Pierre Molinier (1900-1976)

Words and handkerchief by Atsuko Kudo and Simon Hoare

Transgressive, pervy to the max (some might say sick) and a man who embodies the myth of the artist working alone in the garret, many of Pierre Molinier’s greatest works are his self-portraits (as in this case). Created between the mid-1960s and his death by suicide in 1976 they are entirely photographed and manipulated in the room where he lived much of his life in Bordeaux. Molinier devoted these last years to creating hundreds of images in often explicit, darkly comical poses. Here was someone documenting the purity and rawness of their sexuality – recording it for us all to marvel at its liberation, beauty, creativity and even futility. He was also a great stylist. For us, Pierre Molinier is a hero for all of those reasons and because he understood absolutely that exploring our fetishes improves our ordinary lives. 

This artwork is part of The Wall of Sexual Heroes, a collaborative textile art piece featured in our previous exhibition at the Horse Hospital (2022) and Bow Arts Lab (2023). All embroidered, printed and appliquėd handkerchiefs celebrate unsung heroes of sexual emancipation, activism and innovation.

The Wall is an organic work. If you would like to contribute, please get in touch with The Keeper. 


More tales of Sexual Heroes>