Untitled (Gavin) 1984 Poster by Tom of Finland

Discover a hidden and intimate side of Tom of Finland, born Touko Laaksonen (1920–1999), the world-renowned illustrator and one of the most influential gay artists of the 20th century. At a time when homosexuality was both criminalized and pathologized, Laaksonen worked under pseudonyms and in secrecy, creating art that would later become iconic for its bold expression of queer identity.

In his modest home studio and private darkroom, he began producing and developing photographs he called reference photos. To have them processed publicly would have risked imprisonment, making these works both deeply personal and historically significant.

The exhibition The Darkroom at Fotografiska Stockholm, marking the centenary of his birth, revealed this previously unseen side of his creative process, shedding new light on the foundations of his groundbreaking visual language.

Artist: Tom of Finland (Touko Laaksonen)
Poster: Untitled (Gavin) 1984
Exhibition: The Darkroom
Size: 50x70 cm
Printed on-demand on 170 g matte paper