An exhibition at Sydney’s Deutscher and Hackett Gallery challenges social stigma towards ‘gingers’ by celebrating the modern-day, red-haired male. Shot by the British fashion photographer Thomas Knights, himself a redhead, the 100 models include the Vampire Diaries actor Daniel Newman and the Olympians Greg Rutherford and Race Imboden. Knights says of his work: ‘We have been conditioned to think that ginger men are ugly and weak. I wanted to flip this on its head and present the redhead male as the ultimate alpha male’
The photographer says growing up without red-haired role models made him feel ashamed of his red roots Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
Model: Peter Cairns
With a few notable exceptions, such as the Homeland actor Damian Lewis, there is a dearth of high-profile red-haired male actors and models, Knights says Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
Model: Brandon Connelly
The photographer mentions the Harry Potter series to illustrate the status of redheads in society. ‘Look at Harry Potter – the redheads are the poor, weak family, the buffoons. If Harry Potter had been ginger, that would have been a different story’ Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
Model: Wade Holter
The men showcased in Red Hot 100 are ‘masculine, chiselled, cool and proud of the way that they look’, Knights says. He believes his work is a positive rebranding of ‘the ginger’ Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
