2016 is the year of Republicans choosing a twice-divorced reality television star as their presidential candidate, Keith Richards outliving David Bowie and Prince, and a zillion other contradictory events. Nothing makes since, so it was natural for photographer Lucian Wintrich to set up a “Twinks for Trump” art gallery at the Republican National Convention.
Wintrich shot all the photos in his apartment in the East Village, where he works in advertising. “I tend to [discuss politics] as I shoot all of these gorgeous subjects,” he says. “If they get hard during this process, it’s a two for one.”
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If you like hairless bottoms, you may struggle to find the political message in the images, but Wintrich insists twinks are a natural fit for conservative culture and gets upset when people call his art performative. “I absolutely believe that gays should be conservative because the conservative party has historically been the party of freedom, from setting the slaves free”―he stutters, thinking for a recent example of Republicans fighting for individuals’ rights to freedom beyond owning guns―”to setting the slaves free.”
Take a look at the glistening twinks and decide for yourself.
