Elska, Issue 4 – Lisbon, Portugal

Elska is a bi-monthly male photography and culture art-zine on 130 pages of beautifully stroke-able matte paper. Each issue is shot in a different city with men from that city, including not only their photographs but their stories too. It’s a sort of cross between a quasi-intellectual queer pin-up and a sort of sexy anthropology journal.

In this issue:
Issue 4 was made in Lisbon, Portugal. Truly one of Europe’s most beautiful cities, it makes a great contrast following the colder, more northern settings of the previous three issues: Reykjavík, Berlin, and Lviv. The warmer colour pallettes, the beaches, the hills, the crumbling old buildings and cobbled streets all bring a fresh look for the Elska collection. Of course the men are beautiful too, and inside you’ll meet thirteen local boys of various backgrounds, styles and ages. Each is shot in the city or in their homes; in their own clothes or no clothes at all; without artificial styling, airbrushing and over photoshopping. It’s part of the Elska goal to be authentic and honest. The stories too are honest, as each boy’s photospread is accompanied by a personal story, making the experience all the more intimate and aiming to make you feel like you’re right there visiting Lisbon with them.

In our ‘Elska Dehors’ features, you’ll also meet two other boys from beyond Lisbon. This issue includes work by Elías Barajas in Zacatecas, Mexico; and another by Anton Shebetko in Bangkok, Thailand. Plus we have a personal story by Romain Butti in Berlin.

Includes texts in English, Portuguese, Brazilian Portuguese, Spanish and Russian (all with English translations)