So my own values toward sex were always quite conservative in a way, which seems pretty ironic considering who I am and what I do. I’m from London which is one of the world's most progressive cities, but it still is very traditional in terms of British values. Alongside it, Morris explains how Berlin helped him confront his ideas around sex and what its like to be an artist who relies on the ever-fickle Instagram.
Though we could not show the exhibition in full - sadly we do not show erect penises on the Out website, no matter the artistic context - we have curated a selection of the work here. It also reflected a maturation of his knack for photography, something he has cradled since he was a child as his mom was a photographer, and all throughout his life as it at times served as a side hustle. The imagery was raw, intimate, at times delicate, but always personal-according to the Britain, it was a peak into his life over the last year.
For the occasion, he curated a small collection of images and video from his “Other Boys & Lovers” series that he’s been previously sharing on his personal website. Last month during Pride in New York City, Morris hosted the first solo exhibition of his work in a one-day pop up.
But now, since the service’s ban on adult content, the photographer and former professional dancer has moved on. He still credits Tumblr as the place that he really came to understand imagery. The platform was where he developed and honed his eye for aesthetics, and where he began to cultivate an audience. Purchase Goat Trails here.Sam Morris was a Tumblr kid. See his web site, Facebook, and Instagram for more. The intricate and well-tended condos will never last forever. When the summer season ends, the sex condos will most likely not survive the winter storms and the shifting of the tides and beach. Each cruising location is unique to its geography and the natural materials found nearby. The act of photographing these locations where men have sex is more of a documentation of a landmark, all of its history may be stripped but the nuances of sexual tension can still exist without human presence in the photographs. The seemingly simple landscape is incredibly complex, the natural monument is no longer what it seems once you are introduced to the history and the use of the sites at play. Within these beaches, the human altered landscape has been interpreted and created from the natural environment to increase positive sexual performances during the pursuit of anonymous sex. Over the years, unclothed men have developed rituals in walking these paths, wandering in and out of areas covered by dense brush, into open canyons marked by a single, almost mythical looking, untamed palm tree. On the edges of the beach near the canyon walls, “desire paths” can be found snaking through the landscape. Because of this, the beaches have made it popular for men cruising for anonymous gay sex.
Famous for their hard to access and unstable “goat trails”, the hikes hold mythical and sacred qualities, far from the real world and society.
Goat Trails examines the gay nude cruising beaches that are isolated and hidden up and down the coast of California.