Featuring more than 110 stunning images taken over four years, photographer Charles Moriarty’s latest book, the limited-edition BROCK, is an intimate portrait of actor and bodybuilder, Brock Yurich, as he chases his dreams over several years. The most recent photographs, shot earlier this year, follow Brock home to Los Angeles and onto the set of his feature film writing debut Test in Ohio.
Dedicated to “the dreamers”, the book weaves reality with fantasy as it explores Brock’s journey to materializing his aspirations. “BROCK is a creation about creation and the journeys we sometimes go on to make our thoughts, hopes, and dreams become a reality”, Moriarty muses in his introduction to the volume. Chronicling the evolution of the relationship between photographer and subject over several years, the mix of analogue, digital and polaroid images begin as striking physique and bodybuilding studies—queering traditional approaches—and develop into more penetrating, contemplative portraits that capture Brock’s humanity.
Moriarty’s first book, Before Frank—later reissued as Back to Amy—revealed many of his unpublished images of Amy Winehouse and provided a rare and intimate glimpse into the late star’s life before the release of her debut album. In 2019, the photographer turned his lens on himself and the men in his life—including, lovers, friends, and family—as he explored his relationship with his sexuality as well as ideas of masculinity in its many forms, collecting together images he had taken over the previous decade as the book X.
Ahead of this week’s publication of BROCK, Charles Moriarty spoke exclusively with The Queer Review’s editor James Kleinmann about how the book took shape, his inspirations, connecting with a subject, receiving feedback on his work through Instagram, and Brock Yurich’s continuing story.
James Kleinmann, The Queer Review: to what extent do you see BROCK as being about an evolving relationship between photographer and subject?
Charles Moriarty: “Well, it certainly it didn’t start out that way, but it’s always interesting to see how a relationship evolves after the first shoot. When that first meeting occurs you don’t know how well you’re going to connect. Brock and I first spoke in 2017, but we didn’t do a photo shoot until 2021, which is a long build-up. Then between 2021 and 2024 we didn’t do anything together because we were waiting for the right time. There are a lot of people I’ve only photographed once who I’d love to do more with, but it’s a case of being in the same place at the same time. Also, we both have to be in the right mindset. All the planets have to align. When Brock and I did those first two shoots, it was very much that. Everything came together at the right moment. After that, it was really about my decision to focus on him at this time in his life and to take that extra step where I intensely photographed him over a period of time whilst he was shooting the movie Test that he’s written and is the lead actor in.”
“Once I decided that I was making a book, I knew that I needed more content, but I was very set on it not being about aesthetics. It needed to have an underlying truth to it that spoke to who Brock is that stepped away from it just being a book about a handsome man. I would hate for people to come to BROCK thinking that it’s only a book with pretty pictures in it because there’s a lot more to it than that. The relationship between Brock and I was evolving anyway, but it was really pushed forward by me deciding to make this book.”
Is BROCK a conscious exploration of masculinity?
“It’s hard for it not to be with Brock’s physique, but I wanted to look at masculinity through a certain lens. When I conceived the project, I was thinking about Robert Mapplethorpe’s book Lady that he did with Lisa Lyon, in that I was trying to understand Brock within his bodybuilding arena. To understand who he is within that environment, as a gay person, and as someone who grew up not enjoying masculine environments. I wanted to see how I could look at him from a queer perspective within that arena and tell his side of the story as a gay man within that heavily masculine space.”
“With the first images that we did, it was very much what it says on the tin. As it evolved, the shoots became influenced by a lot of other things. In the third shoot there were ideas of Eadweard Muybridge, who was a really early photographer. I wanted to explore how the male body exists within photography and to look at a modern gay man in that sphere. We did the same thing when we repossessed the strong man imagery and queered it by using a gay man in a very masculine way. It’s a tightrope with Brock because of how he presents himself. He doesn’t necessarily present himself as a gay man and because of that you have to dig a little deeper and read between the lines a bit more. I focus mostly on him and his identity, but the book really focuses on the idea of chasing your dreams and trying to find your space in the world.”
There is an insightful interview with Brock in the book conducted by his Test co-star Paloma Garcia-Lee. In that conversation, he mentions that you capture a vulnerability about him that he hadn’t seen in himself before. Was that something you were actively seeking to do?
“When I shoot, I’m not necessarily thinking about that. It’s something that is visible afterwards. You get to a certain point as a photographer where ideas of composition and light come so naturally to you that you’re just doing it. During a session, I’m essentially focused on getting really good shots, but also trying to put my model in a certain space with me as well. Brock and I happen to go to that space really quickly and easily.”
“There are a lot of images from our shoots that I couldn’t include because I had to decide what would go on the floor as I shaped the book. That was hard because there are so many really great photographs. During that selection process, what I was looking for was the humanity in the images. That’s what I’m always looking for when I’m photographing someone. I’m looking for who that person is and the emotion within them. I’m thinking about the intimate space that I can create to let that person thrive in front of a camera. Brock trusts me enough to be himself in front of the camera and when you’re given the space to do that, it just comes out.”
Why were you initially drawn to him as a subject when he got in touch with you on Instagram to suggest a shoot?
“I’d never worked with a bodybuilder before, so I thought it’d be a really interesting foray into that world. You can talk to someone all you want over Instagram, but you don’t really know who that person is until you meet them in person. So when we eventually met, like I say in my introduction to the book, I wasn’t sure about how I felt after our first shoot. I wasn’t sure if it was going deep enough or if we were exploring who he was as a bodybuilder. He wanted to do more shots after that initial shoot and I felt that the second time around I got to see a bit more of who he is and to pull back the curtain a little more on his personality.”
There is a performance aspect to bodybuilding, with all the set poses. Was that something that you leaned into?
“Yeah, to begin with, but I had to pull away from that eventually. Even when we were shooting for the third time together, which was in London, it was easy to use bodybuilding as a central focal point. It was easy for him to fall into those shapes because it was movement that he knew well. We could start from there and then bring in other ideas. It was a good starting point because when you put someone in front of a camera there’s always a moment where they’re a little bit of a rabbit in the headlights. People don’t realize that being a professional model isn’t easy. You have to be able to understand your body; how it moves; how it’s going to react to the camera; how it’s going to react to the way the light is coming at you. It would be unfair of me to throw in Brock, who’s not a model, and expect him to be perfect. So doing movements that he knows inside out makes it all the easier to get things going, but then we move away from that. I think the third shoot takes it to another place and after that it starts to get more interesting.”
Do you have a favourite sequence in the book?
“It took a while to understand what the book was. Once I did, the overarching journey was about finding a dream and I really enjoy the dream sequence. Many people might not get that’s what it is until they’ve looked at the book a few times. It begins with the images of the horses. The idea was to take the cowboy in the studio out into real life. Every other series of images has a note detailing where and when it was taken apart from this section because it’s not reality. Then the book evolves into Brock’s own reality that he’s created when we’re on the set of his film. The book is about manifested dreams and ideas. I love how if you flick through it you won’t necessarily realise that, but if you take some time to really look at it you’ll start to understand the structure.”
“I also love the section from the Test shoot in Ohio because I was able to say to Brock, ‘Go to your character’ and he was instantly able to enter an emotional state that maybe he wasn’t feeling himself. Thats gives a breadth to the book in its emotional range and it was fun to go to more places with him that we hadn’t gone to before.”
I love the underwater image that is part of the dream sequence. Did you shoot that in a tank?
“We shot that in a pool that had a window into it. I’ve always thought of water and mirrors as being like portals, enabling you to pass between worlds almost. At the end of that sequence, he’s in water again, but all of a sudden it becomes much more clearly a swimming pool and more reality based. There is a quote by Isaac Asimov and a quote by Lewis Carroll from Alice Through the Looking Glass, which are both trying to signpost things a bit. On the opening page there is a dedication, “For the dreamers”. All of the quotes are trying to bring you into the idea that a lot of this is a fictional reality. We’re creating worlds within worlds. Essentially, it’s a book about dreams. So some of it is about fiction, but there’s a truth even within that.”
People who follow you on Instagram will have seen some of these images along the way before being published in book form. What is it like to have that instant reaction to your work?
“I had all these images that I had to contextualize to put into book form. I had to create a narrative and give it some purpose. It takes me a long time to see something in an image that I’ve taken, so having people see and comment on the work on Instagram is really helpful in terms of understanding what they’re interested in. On the downside, things can get sexualized very fast on Instagram. One of the things that I’ve noticed whilst making this book is that I’ve been getting a lot messages asking things like, ‘Will there be full frontal?’ I keep having to let people down about that and tell them not to buy the book if that’s all they’re looking for. It’s not about that. Sure, there are lots of great butt shots in there, but overall the book is not about aesthetics. It’s not that kind of book.”
How does it feel to finally be getting BROCK out into the world?
“It’s been a real pleasure to create. It’s been nearly five years since X came out, so it feels amazing to be back with a new book. I hope people pick it up and keep coming back to it and that they enjoy the multitude of narratives that are in it. I also want people to continue to follow Brock’s ongoing story. His film, Test, is now in post-production so hopefully that will be out next year. I’m excited to see how Brock’s story continues to evolve.”
By James Kleinmann
BROCK by Charles Moriarty is on sale now at charlesmoriartyshop.com.
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