Started in December 2015, the Male Intensive Enquiry Unit (Male IEU) is a small group (max 6) of male artists who are focused on an intensive enquiry of the male body. The purpose is to use drawing from life to drive a scrutiny which is more critical and incorporates peer critique to develop our thinking.
Along the way, we are starting to explore the question: in the context of “here and now” how do we work off/from/with the male body which is contemporary and engages with the current discourse about the male body in our societies?
The term Male Body may mean nude/naked or clothed/covered and so we are bypassing the restrictions of Kenneth Clark’s definitions.
Utilising curiosity and intelligence, experimenting with materials and techniques, having the courage to make mistakes and produce much which is neither finished nor resolved, and feeding our thinking with critical research between sessions, we hope to push our work into new personal areas. As the Unit develops, it is likely that the ongoing dialogue will grow in an honest and robust manner.
It will be challenging, scary and exciting.
The Male IEU meets weekly at The Armour Studio in London.
Jonathan Armour 
Max has the power to convey power and vulnerability all at once. He is not a model, sitting passively there, waiting for you to do the work. Max arrived with an agenda to stir something inside us, and so he did, in spite of a hint of shyness.