© The Estate of Bob Carlos ClarkeArt & Photography / LightboxArt & Photography / LightboxWild photos of young lovers getting off in the 90sBob Carlos Clarke photographed public school balls to create this highly-charged, hormonal seriesShareLink copied ✔️March 27, 2018March 27, 2018TextAshleigh KaneBob Carlos Clarke’s The Agony & The Ecstasy In 1994, love was all around photographer and provocateur Bob Carlos Clarke. So he did what came naturally to him – pulled out his camera and made a comprehensive collection of photos of young lovers getting off with one another. These images, which will be shown collectively at The Little Black Gallery under the title The Agony & The Ecstasy, were taken in the hormone pressure cooker that is public school balls. “Carlos Clarke, who was sent to board at Wellington College, saw this orgiastic spectacle as ‘a peculiar side effect of a British public school education’, in which access to the other sex is limited to the point of obsession, if not actual sexual persuasion,” writes Max Houghton in the show’s eponymous book, which will also be released in May. Often referred to as the British Helmut Newton, the late Carlos Clarke’s oeuvre is heavily laced with sex, nudity, bondage, and eroticism. But even with the controversial nature of his work, his photos were boundary-less; crossing from fine art to celebrity portraiture, and advertising, and back again, at the click of his shutter. The Agony & The Ecstasy will be on show at London’s The Little Black Gallery from 12 – 26 May 2018. Limited edition prints are also available. Visit www.thelittleblackgallery.com for further info. Bob’s daughter Scarlett has set up an Instagram page to celebrate his work, follow here From The Agony & The Ecstasy© The Estate of Bob Carlos ClarkeEscape the algorithm! Get The DropEmail address SIGN UP Get must-see stories direct to your inbox every weekday. Privacy policy Thank you. You have been subscribed Privacy policy Expand your creative community and connect with 15,000 creatives from around the world.READ MORECatherine Opie on ‘perverts’, Heated Rivalry and photographing neo-NazisCandid photos capture life inside a women’s prison in Mexicofakemink: ‘I’m the Eminem of the UK underground’Life lessons from the legendary photographer Larry SultanThese intimate photos show the multiplicity of ‘Dykes’ Antonio MarrasAntonio Marras wants us to stop and smell the roses for AW26The most loved photo stories from February 2026The best art and photography shows to see in March 2026The dA-Zed guide to Tracey EminThese photos document love and loss in times of political crisisThis film explores how two shootings defined the student protest movementThese photos explore the internet’s supernatural depthsEscape the algorithm! Get The DropEmail address SIGN UP Get must-see stories direct to your inbox every weekday. Privacy policy Thank you. You have been subscribed Privacy policy