Lee Peacock. Content Creator . Portfolio
Self-Directed
Self-Directed
Photographer, Designer, Creative Tinkerer. Personal Projects.
Website: www.peacocking.org Email: leejosephpeacock95@gmail.co.uk Phone: 07885370150 Instagram: @leepeacocking
Self-Directed
Above: Gone Too Soon - A selection from an illustrative series composed in memorial of pop icons who sadly passed in 2016. Above: Pixel Portraits of friends and instagram followers.
Self-Directed
Above: Design a Day Challenge (January) Pokemon Evolution Lines.
Self-Directed
Above: Alternative model Arran Armstrong.
Head shots.
Self-Directed
Above: Drag Queen Mary-Jane Holland. Throughout my Stamping Ground project I met a large range of drag queens from Newcastle’s local gay scene. This lead to an ongoing project entitled “Drag Me Around” a visual investigation into the diversity of drag themes and drag culture.
Self-Directed
Peacocking & Personal Style
Peacocking & Personal Style
Peacocking & Personal Style.
A Subcultural Compendium.
Brief
Outcome
To create an explore a self-determined creative brief, resulting in a promotional campaign that will launch my idea into a real world setting. Throughout this project I am to outline all logistical elements whilst communicating my concept through a final range of selected outcomes.
Within this project I have developed the campaign “Peacocking and Personal Style�, a visual and research based investigation into the global subcultural influences in fashion and lifestyle. My research has resulted in an A5 hardback book, filled with a range of information and illustrations representing an A-Z of youth culture. Additionally I have produced a range of collectable 3D designer toys, art prints and a virtual reality experience to both promote and strengthen my campaign. Throughout this publication I have aimed to not only identify the unique styles and standing points of cultural tribes but to also rectify some of the common misconceptions behind these various groups. Subcultures such as BDSM, naturists and furries all have preconceived notions attached to them. These connotations have resulted in a collaboration between education and entertainment.
Peacocking & Personal Style
Above: A2 promotional poster visually communicating my overall concept.
Peacocking & Personal Style
Above: Illustration examples of subcultures; Naturist, Mod, Drag and BDSM.
Above: Illustration examples of subcultures; Teddy, La Sape, Zazou and Ullzang.
Peacocking & Personal Style
Above: My 3D illustration examples to accompany my initial designs.
Peacocking & Personal Style
Above: Packaging design for my customisable designer toy as part of the promotional campaign that coincides with Peacocking & Personal style. #PaintedPeacocking.
Opposite: The 3D design and initial concept draft for my 3D printed designer toy. Based on my original graphic self-portrait (as seen below).
Trend Forecasting
Trend Forecasting
Feminisation of Men & The Grooming Obsession. With Household.
Brief
Outcome
On behalf of Household we were asked to research and identify two future trends from one of the identified industry sectors Fashion, Lifestyle, Food and Drink or Travel. We then were asked to communicate the visual identity of these trends, investigating colour, texture, products, materials, styling and how it will translate into my chosen sector.
Through the early stages of this brief I chose to look into both Fashion and Lifestyle. After a large amount of both primary and secondary research I identified two trends - the feminisation of men and the male grooming obsession. The first trend was based on the evolution of various fashion garments and practices. Items such as furs, lipsticks, high heels and crop tops were all originally conceived for men in historical situations. These trends are now coming back into menswear - reclaiming what is now considered feminine practice. My second trend was an advancement of the first. I focused on the wide amount of grooming products the modern day man buys and uses. I looked into the grooming practices we indulge in and the ever changing environment of the “mans’’ world”.
Trend Forecasting
Trend Forecasting
Trend Forecasting
FASHION TREND
Groomed to Obsession The beard is one of the most masculine social tokens in existence. With man spending an average of thirtyseven and a half days between the ages of fifteen and seventy-five shaving, it only makes sense that in modern man has chosen to embrace their facial hair. But how much time and effort does a full face of hair really save? Each beard takes hours of maintenance, shaping, cleaning, trimming and conditioning. Men are doing this for what a beard projects socially. Beards are said to be a sign of confidence, wealth and of higher social status. They are also seen as a sign of the dominance in the case of the alpha male; by having a bi-product of what makes a man a man (testosterone) displayed proudly upon his face. But what is going to happen when these proud men decide to shave their faces to follow a new trend? The gap within the beauty industry between men and women is minimizing rapidly. Even if the physical beard disappears the addiction to buying a multitude of products will not. When the stubble subsides, the products will be replaced by others, a new obsession and a new trend. Back in 2015 Mintel found that 29% of men claim that they are now spending more time looking after their hair compared to six months ago. There is a high increase in the number of young males who wear make-up; fake tan and groom their eye brows when compared to that of ten years ago. This could be linked to shows like Geordie Shore bringing a different male ideal to the public eye. These habits at one time were considered feminine traits, so the real question is, how many more beauty practices will become gender normative?
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Trend Forecasting
Diversity Now!
Diversity Now!
Diversity Now! All Walks Beyond The Catwalk.
Brief
Outcome
To develop a journalistic and photographic spread focused on an area of diversity within fashion. Age, body image, gender and sexuality were all main touch points within the i-D magazine, collaborative brief. From a range of research into our chosen specialism we were to create a thoughtprovoking and topical digital article that would be of interest to the magazines readily established target audience.
For my choice of campaign I chose to investigate the diversity of subcultural fashion, gender identity, gender established job rolls, sexuality and disability. My subject was Venus DiMilo a Newcastle based faux queen (a biologically female, drag queen). She was born with a disability that restricted her arms growing, rather than letting this hold her back she chose to embrace it and use it as part of her drag act. Branding herself million-dollar no arms, Venus has conquered a male-dominated field and her disability in the process. A member of the LGBT+ community and an advocate for alternative style I managed to produce an interesting written pieced paired with a range of striking visuals that were short-listed within two categories (photography and graphic poster) for a diversity in fashion award.
With i-D Magazine.
SHORT LIST
Diversity Now!
Above: Graphic poster featuring one of my shortlisted photographs for All Walks Beyond the Catwalk.
Online Publication
Online Publication
The Stamping Ground.
An LGBT+ Online Magazine.
Brief
Outcome
To create a fashion output from a self-determined genre and style. Outputs include, books, zines, films, exhibitions or online publications. Within the creative output we were expected to create original content whilst branding all forms of media as if under one brand.
Within this brief I focused on the LGBT+ community. From this starting point I went on to create a website or online publication under a new brand - The Stamping Ground. My written work was a mix of informative pieces and entertainment/satirical content. The vision I had for this brand was to create both an escape and a sense of community. I introduced segments such as a photographic drag series “Drag Me Around” which I intend to follow up on in the near future and “Liquor Locker” which was a cocktail segment that instructed the reader on how to make themed drinks for a variety of occasions. These areas of the website helped break up articles with a more serious undertone - articles that looked at issues such as sexual identity and homophobia.
Online Publication
Sexuality: Gay, Straight or Spectrum Do our porn habits have any correlation to our sexuality? Or does straight men watching man on man action further prove the Kinsey Scale within sexuality? For those of you who don’t know a theory, has been boggling the minds of psychologists, both sexual and otherwise, for decades now. In short the theory suggests sexuality is subjective, not falling under one singular category but rather falling somewhere within the spectrum. And when all sexualities are connected by a spectrum, various events within your life could shift you one way or another. In my personal opinion I agree with this theory, sexuality is something that I feel most people question at some point in their lives. It’s completely constructed by what we have been taught to believe by those who have come before us. I myself have dated a guy who now considers himself straight and is happily engaged to a woman. I also know many stories of straight guys hooking up with gay guys once or multiple times, but being physically attracted to someone and having a genuine connection isn’t the same thing. The main reason this topic has been brought back up across various media platforms is down to the research of one man, Martin J Downing and his team of researchers. They interviewed 821 men total about their porn habits resulting in some interesting statistics within the correlation between sexuality and sexual arousal. In the 6 months prior to the test 55% of gay men admitted to watching oppositegender-oriented porn (that’s straight porn to you and me) while a surprising 21% of men who consider
themselves to be straight had found themselves watching gay porn regularly (ignoring the occasions put down to “pure curiosity”). Along with this, results found that men who identify as heterosexual were admitting to having been attracted to other men and/or even partaking in sexual intercourse with them. “Sexual attractions and behaviours are more than just identity,” - Martin J Downing (Cosmopolitan, October 2016) I know of gay men who watch and prefer straight porn. I assume this is down to the notion of heterosexual men being considered more masculine. When it comes to straight men watching gay porn I could see the enjoyment stemming from the idea of gay porn being completely based on male arousal. So does Downing’s study prove the spectrum theory? Or are people just more interested in doing what they want in the moment rather than being restricted by the socially dictated labels? Sexuality is something that is always being worked out, whether that be down to being uncomfortable in your own skin or a change in situation. Identity is personal and not something that can be dictated by others, so gay, straight or spectrum, do what makes you happy.
Online Publication
Hanky Panky: The Code to 70s Fetishism Before hook up apps and dating sites featuring lengthy bios explaining the ins and outs of your entire sexual repertoire, the only way to meet people was to do so in person. But without the comfort of a magical block button, or the ability to swipe through a room worth of potential suitors, gay men had another way of signalling their sexual interests towards one another. This developed into the Hanky Code - big in the 1970s, it was a colour-coded system, which informed others in a stand out way on what you were looking for with your potential sexual partner. This helped avoid saying it out loud (particularly helpful in noisy and distracting environments such as gay bars or fetish clubs) whilst also being discreet and obvious only to those in the know. The wearing of handkerchiefs was said to have followed the Gold Rush in San Francisco. A shortage of women meant men square dancing with one another became more commonplace. It was agreed by those involved that the lead would wear a blue bandanna representing the typically male parts of the dance where as those who wore the red took the part of what was traditionally the female. There was nothing sexual meant by the wearing of the hanky back then, so where did the code of fetishism begin? It isn’t completely known as to where the code originated as it differed from region to region. But one theory is that in 1971 when a journalist for the Village Voice in New York City joked that simply wearing keys on your trousers to indicate who is a top and who is a bottom wasn’t detailed enough towards wants and desires. Meaning a more
meticulous system to announce particular sexual focus was required. Each colour had a specific meaning, but in most cases the colours chosen had many variations in hues and tones. Completely changing the meaning with the adjustment of a simple shade. For example, seeing a man with a blue handkerchief could mean anything from oral sex (light blue) to genital torturing (teal) - not something you want to get mixed up – making it a relatively flawed system. But what was truly flawed was not only did the colours you chose had meaning, but which pocket you wore the hanky would also determine a pretty crucial factor. The left back pocket tended to mean you were the more dominant or active one in the relationship where as the right was more passive or submissive in nature. So you didn’t just need to find a man of matching colour, to be completely compatible they also need to wear it in the opposite pocket and this was all before even deciding if you were attracted to them. It was a giant sexual game of Where’s Wally, and if you did find Wally you most likely found a man who was into shaving both himself and his partner (red and white striped hanky). Perhaps this explains today’s market for online dating. All I know is I am never leaving the house with a blue handkerchief hanging out of my pocket, just in case there is a 70s revival and I find out the hard way.
Online Publication
A Short Course on How to Pick a Pervert Have you ever wanted to know how to spot a homosexual male? No? Me neither. But an article from the 1962 Sunday Mirror taught readers how to do just that. So here introducing a brief summery on “How to Spot a Possible Homo”.
unmarried (either way you’re probably gay). The second mannerism is the dastardliest of all. Men who volunteer their free time to the youth of the community. Caring about the younger generation is pretty damn gay.
Due to one man’s role in Russian intelligence and his use of sexuality to gain sexual favours, the Sunday Mirror decided to publish “A short course on how to pick a pervert”.
Then we have the complimentary men, those who put effort into trying to make others happy - I think they had the wrong definition of gay for this one - if she’s left with a smile on her face, he’s probably gay. Next there is the overly clean man; as we all know many studies have shown that soap completely alters our personalities and sexuality – damn you Imperial Leather. And finally we have the fussy dresser, pride in your appearance will make the general public assume you have spent your life in that closet, so just throw on a sports jacket – oh no, wait, that would also make you gay. Never mind.
To ensure you never end up in a situation where trading your countries security for carnal knowledge is an option, pay attention to how to spot a man who is addicted to homosexual practice. Starting with the two distinctive groups of homosexuals stated within this piece of hard-hitting journalism; we have the concealed and the obvious. The concealed walk amongst the heterosexuals, like a fabulous wolf in sheep’s clothing. They tend to be dressed in sports jackets and have a “traditional family” starring a wife and kids, because, as we all know by definition, being gay means having a wife and kids. But on the other hand, maybe you need to spot the obvious homosexual, the kind of guy that likes to look their best at all times, wear welltailored suits and walk with a little wiggle. Falling under any of these categories will land you onto the “suspect list”. But it’s not over yet; we still have the five, (yes count them five!) Foolproof ways to spot the “giltedged specimen’. The first type being middle-aged unmarried men, again secret homosexuals can be married, but those who aren’t married tend to be
So just remember, if you’re married, unmarried, well groomed, clean, respectable, friendly, considerate or even if you’re not the chances are you are pretty damn gay.