Shame is a tired coin, and Christopher Sherman he treats it just like that. His first solo exhibition, Your shame bores mepresented Yabu Pushelberg in Toronto, builds a visual language that defies the predictable script of confinement. Sherman pushes desire, vulnerability and human messiness into full display. His portraits move through intimacy, interpretation and power with an unapologetic immediacy, exposing how much of our emotional life is shaped by the fear of being seen. The tension between honesty, sincerity and the cultural apparatus that governs both becomes the ground on which his work stands.
In this conversation with DSCENE magazine‘small Borislav UtesinovichSherman talks about horniness as an artistic practice, the exhaustion of shame, and the delicate work of building confidence in front of a camera. He talks about photographing cultural icons without feeding into their mythology, creating space where suffering becomes productive, and why imperfection remains the most political stance an artist working within varnish-obsessed systems possesses. The result is a portrait of someone intent on removing the inherited rules around desire and image-making, choosing instead to build a world where honesty is allowed to exist unapologetically.
Your first solo exhibition is entitled Your Shame Bores Me. What is it about shame that you find so repetitive, so tiresome, that you decide to reject it altogether? – Shame is often this repetitive, exhausting loop that prevents us from moving forward in our lives, holds us back from our dreams and desires. I see it as a social construct that has been overused to control and silence us. Rejecting it completely is my way of reclaiming my life, refusing to let shame dictate my story or block human expression. We are on a huge rock called earth spinning in the universe. I’m here to experience it all.
Shame is often this repetitive, exhausting loop that prevents us from moving forward in life.
You have created an entire business around the horn. Why do you consider cauterization to be radical rather than frivolous? – Because keratosis disrupts the sanitized, polished versions of desire we often harbor. It is a raw, honest force within us that challenges societal expectations and creates space for real power over our bodies and emotions. In this way, it is inherently radical, an act of rebellion against repression. Looking at the world today, I think we could all use a little more radical honesty in how we live as humans.
Fashion, art and eroticism often revolve around each other. How do you navigate the line between commerce and intimacy in your photography? – I see these worlds more intertwined than separate. What do fashion and art often sell? … SEX. My goal is to create images that feel desirable and authentic – bridging the superficial and the vulnerable. It’s about building trust and respect, so intimacy isn’t created but emerges naturally, even within commercial contexts.
Vulnerability and performance collide in your portraits. How do you get your subjects to lean into the discomfort? Is it about creating space where they no longer feel judged? – Exactly. It’s about building a relationship based on honesty and understanding. I always tell my viewers that we have two priorities on set: 1. To protect their personal energy and 2. To make great images, and they have to be in that order.
I create a space where suffering is seen as part of growth and not as failure. When subjects trust that judgment has no place here, they are more willing to bend to these uncomfortable extremes. I also put my full name on all things horny to lead by example and inspire others to explore different parts of themselves.
Your Shame Bores Me features portraits of cultural icons such as David Cronenberg, Francis Ford Coppola, Adam Driver and Vivek Shraya. How do you balance the myth of celebrity with your own insistence on honesty? – One of my favorite quotes from Geri Halliwell’s ‘Look at Me’ video is ‘Image is often our imagination, reality is rarely revealed’. Hollywood, fashion and celebrity are all about illusion and dreaming. The celebrities I have photographed are all real people with real human baggage.
I embrace their mythic status, but remove the veneer to reveal their humanity. Honesty comes from acknowledging complexity, celebrity is not about perfection. it is a disguised vulnerability. My portraits aim to peel back these layers and show the authentic self beneath the myth.
Horniness disrupts the sanitized, polished versions of desire we often harbor.
Your work stands up to polishing, even when it’s commercial. Is imperfection a political act for you? – Certainly. I worked as a Creative Director for over 10 years before choosing to follow my own artistic path. In the commercial world, perfection is king, but in perfection, you strip an image or an idea of its soul. You end up serving your audience despite the superficiality.
Perfect images often reinforce these shallow standards. Embracing Imperfection challenges this norm and affirms that authenticity, messiness, and vulnerability have real value, political, personal, and artistic. Honestly, I’d rather have a horny day than a perfect one.
You described horniness as an “artistic and cultural practice.” What do you think the culture would look like if we embraced horniness without stigma? – My motto is “Have A Horny Day”. I want people to embrace the things that make them hot in their lives. To me, pursuing what makes you horny is loving yourself and saying no to the fears and shame that hold us back.
A sex-positive, horny world would be a freer, more honest place, less ashamed of desire as a natural part of the human experience. Without stigma, we could build a culture that celebrates pleasure, consent, and intimacy as essential parts of a healthy, balanced life.
What happens after shame? – We claim ourselves again. The selves behind the masks we all wear. After shame, there is room for authenticity, joy, and messy humanity. It is to embrace what was once hidden and transform it into our strengths.
What everyday object do you secretly find romantic? – I believe that books are the most erotic objects in the world. They have countless radical, horny ideas, no wonder people have always tried to ban them. But beyond words and pictures, I find books erotic because of their touch and feel, the texture of the pages, the way they invite you to linger, explore and lose yourself in their sensory richness. So a horny book is my next focus.
After shame, there is room for authenticity, joy, and messy humanity.
This issue of DSCENE is the New Disorder. Do you find your practice creating disorder or simply revealing the chaos that has always existed beneath the surface? – I see it as revealing the true mess that is being human. Disorder isn’t necessarily chaos, sometimes it just reveals truths that have been hidden or ignored, making room for a more honest, unfiltered identity to emerge. Living a horny life means embracing pleasure and desire as vital parts of my happiness, because when we honor what makes us feel alive, we find joy that is truly good for us.
