Terrence Higgins Trust - 2023, Timed Auction

Paradox of one is a self-portrait by Dan Ashley, inspired by a black and white image taken by photographer Charles Moriarty. Using ink, charcoal, graphite pencil and acrylic paint, he captures the drama of light and shade of a nude male figure. The beauty of the male form can be traced back to Ancient Greece where depictions celebrated the male body as a reflection of heroic and athletic beauty. 

This male nude abandons the conventions of classical realism to portray the body in diagrammatic, ergonomic imagery; half man-half machine. This work of art explores notions of vulnerability versus power and frailties of mind and body.