Jarring Photo Series Explores Relationship Between Masculinity And Vulnerability (NSFW)

"My photography concentrates on the emotional aftermath of my father's five year incarceration, and the power an artist has to control a subject's body," photographer Carrie Levy wrote in an email to the Huffington Post. Her ongoing exhibition, entitled "Reveal," features angular shots of anonymous men, showing how a photograph can simultaneously reveal so much emotion and so little information.

Levy's photographs explore the constant tension between what is hidden and what is exposed in a given photograph. Contorted nude forms, wide open mouths and pained expressions hint at untold tales of darkness and pain, although in the end nothing certain can be ascertained.

"Reveal," Levy's first exhibition to focus solely on male subjects, explores the relationship between masculinity's tough exterior and the vulnerability that lurks beneath the surface. The jarring shapes formed by human flesh, the intense interplay of light and shadow, all feed into an overwhelming feeling of mystery, whether looking at a total total stranger or a loved one.

See a few of Levy's most intriguing shots below, but be warned, some are NSFW.

"Reveal: Portraits by Carry Levy" is on view at the North Carolina Museum of Art until January 26, 2014.