1 Samuel 18:1 Poster

David LaChapelle’s 1 Samuel 18:1 dares to teeter the line between homosociality and homoeroticism in the story of David and Jonathan from the Book of Samuel. The nature of this relationship has been greatly debated in theology, art and literature, and while most recognise it as deeply intimate, Christian and Jewish traditions ultimately conclude it as platonic. There have been a few yearning insurgencies though, like Oscar Wilde at his 1895 trial citing the example of David and Jonathan as “the love [between an older and younger man] that dare not speak its name,” and now, perhaps here. David sits naked on a blue orb posing athletically and effeminately –– the body beautiful in classical aesthetics, ascending above the clouds. He is affectionately intertwined in the arms of another, assumed to be Jonathan, whose one hand fingers David’s left hand while the other grazes his right nipple. The debate reignites: homosocial or homoerotic?

Size: 19.69"W 27.56"H (50x70 cm)

Printed on 170g FSC-certified paper

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