Hans Eijkelboom's The Ideal Man at Masculinities: Liberation through Photography

‘By means of a questionnaire I asked 100 women to describe their ideal man in terms of appearance and clothing. I received 42 replies and from those I chose the most diverse. I sent a portrait of myself to these 10 women asking them to mark on the photo how my face would have to be to fit their image of the ideal man. On the basis of this information, I called in the help of a make-up artist and found the necessary clothes. As a photo of her ideal man was taken, each woman was present to give directions on the clothes and make-up.’

What does it mean to be a man today? The Barbican's Masculinities: Liberation through Photography considers how masculinity has been coded, performed, and socially constructed from the 1960s to the present day.