'Sofa So Naked' is Dean Stockings candid photographic snap shot of the society we live in. This book is a move away from Stocking’s usual vivid, camp and glossy studio shoots which he has become famous for and very familiar to anyone who reads the fashion & gay press, as his images seem to be in every magazine I pick up. 

In this reassuringly thick and meaty hardback book Stocking invites us to peep into the living rooms and lives of a cross section of our community, from students to celebrities, young to old and let them stare back at us at the same time. From clashing patterns on carpets and suburban British curtains, to sleek minimalist apartments in NYC, the viewer becomes more interested in the models surroundings than in the naked body on display. The images are all black and white with a splash of colour.

Each model appears naked on their own sofa, in their own home, with just one prop, chosen by the photographer to reflect their personality. This is a personal book, with a bold vulnerable edge which fascinated me. I got the impression that these folk were all his friends and I was seeing into not just their lives but also his. The models are as exposed or covered as they choose, depending on their modesty.

Preview here:

Each of these sometimes stark but always beautiful portraits is accompanied by a short and simple questionnaire that is reproduced in the book exactly as the models returned it, including any doodles or stains. These are the hidden gem in this lovely book and some of the answers are heart breakingly honest. Not only are these models baring their flesh to us, some of them bear their souls and this book is made all the better for this simple, repetitive juxtaposition between what we see and what we are shown.

My favourite images in the book and the accompanying answers from Margret and David Peckhm (80 & 87 years old) haunted me afterwards with it’s small, quiet but overwhelmingly powerful honestly.

I’m a Stocking fan and this fantastic 120 page hardcover book has only served to remind me of this talent we have nestling in our midst and it will go a long way to underlining his reputation as one of the UK's preeminent photographers. Mr Stocking is a master of his art but the things I really like about his classy work is the way that he subtlety makes me think about what it is I am looking at. His medium is his message.

Out now £34.95
From the pubslishers website here: