$750 Rings, photograph by Jai Lennard

Egosynthesis: the process by which a person’s ego is presented in tangible form, most often gifts, and is then broken down to something unrecognizable by someone on the receiving end. The male-female relationship commonly requires men to maintain a sense of ego as they are instinctively and socially deemed responsible for approaching their prospective mate and spreading their seed. From brightly colored feathers to picking just the right restaurant and taking care of the bill, men must put their ego on the table and in hopes to not only be accepted, but also not be rejected.

Today, the idea of ego hasn’t changed but its representations are much more vast. With that, personal taste is equally paralleled. Pornography, in all of its endless genres and sub genres, represents easily found archives of imagery, video and entire websites dedicated to the Creampie; the act of a partner, on the receiving end, pushing out ejaculate from their vagina or anus. This is a performative act that has been en vogue within pornographic arena for nearly a decade . As an act, seemingly more enjoyed by its audience than its performers, one must consider the positive and negative connotations that arise as they gesture towards the same concept of ego.

The depictions expressed by Egosynthesis portray the various forms in which men today present their ego and are rejected as such. Through flowers, chocolate, candy and more, men arrive bearing gifts that most often reflect who they think they are, what their perceived worth is, and what they think their prospective partner wants. To see this power, mentally and physically, held by women during a sexual act is to not only see a rejection of the act to procreate, but a rejection of the male counterpart and his psyche. The development and act of this rejection is far from appealing. On the other hand, the act of gift giving is pleasurable. As the giver men find the process of obtaining the right gift a conquest on our journey to success. We become set on the belief that the receiver will not only want our gift, but accept us in the process--hopefully free from mental or physical barriers on their part. Comparatively, the journey through intercourse is often more enjoyable this way too--with no condom. The journey is more intimate and allows for more sensation, mentally and physically. That said, the act of rejecting such a gift, found at the end of this journey, can be crude not unlike the imagery in the Egosynthesis series.

Through the use of the mouth as a surrogate orifice to the vaginal, the creampie scenario opens itself up to the ideas of what parts and types of ego can be consumed. The imagery is raw, uncomfortable and visceral. Much like the discomfort associated with having a gift returned, we can feel the squeamishness through each pair of photographed lips. Each individual mouth draws further connections to the idea of the male ego and raises questions about not just the donor’s reactions, but also the reaction of each rejected gift from the female perspective. If each relationship is a case-by-case scenario, why do we continuously see the same outcome?

Bio:
Jai Lennard was raised in Northern California in a home filled with art. Most of the art were nudes. He used to count how many pairs of boobs there were with friends for a good laugh. You’d like Jai. Jai would probably like you. He lives and works in Brooklyn, NY.