The Surprising Sexiness of Plastic Watering Cans
All photos courtesy of Ken Lavey

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The Surprising Sexiness of Plastic Watering Cans

Photographer Ken Lavey's new series "Cavities" continues to make us appreciate the eroticism of everyday objects.

I landed on the subject of watering can cavities by accident in the studio one day, and it grew into a spinoff series of some previous work. My previous images took into consideration the erotic potential of household objects; the transformation of a utilitarian object into a fetishized one.

The curves of injection in molded plastic have such a variety of surfaces and texture; some are pebbled and topographic, while others are smooth and have a glossy sheen. The envelopment, compression, and infusion of this manufacturing process are sensuous in a way. Molding and casting is such a tactile process and the mechanics of it are easily personified and supplanted by the sexualized body. There are creases and pockets of different shapes and configurations. They look anatomical and somatic, like colorful paint-dipped orifices.

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The parting line of the mold runs up and down cast plastic like the seams you can find along your perineum, or the roof of your mouth. I like the idea of these images evoking an ambiguous kinship with the body, that people might relate to in different ways, and consider their own physicality and fascination with the human body.

Ken Lavey is a photographer based in NYC. You can follow his work here.