Perhaps best known as a watering hole frequented by the capital's beefy boys, the Box has begun to establish itself as an innovative art space specialising in exhibitions that explore what it feels like for a boy. This week, an exhibition of the work of acclaimed artist Kobi Israel opens.

Simply titled Kobi Israel Views, the images in the show, set in his native Israel, explore gay desire within the strict parameters of army life.

'I try to recreate and reinvent fragments in my own life and psyche as a young Israeli growing up in a "macho" society where feelings towards other men are often brotherly - but seldom crossing the dangerous line between a brotherly hug and a hug of love and desire,' he says.

The images depict burly men in close physical proximity. The viewer is left as confused as Kobi was during his National Service as to whether these embraces point to something more. 'The thin line between the homosocial and the homoerotic in army life can be so confusing and torturous for a gay soldier,' he continuous. 'I have tried to recreate the feeling of loneliness that I suddenly felt, torn by confusing emotions of "brotherly" love and sexual attraction to my fellow soldiers; by fear mixed with beauty and fantasy.' Through mixing staged piece in his earlier works and snapshots taken from his more recent experiences as an out gay man, the free exhibition has captured the subtle differences between real life and fantasy.

Twenty five percent of print sales and 40 per cent of book sales will go to Elton John Aids Foundation.

© Evening Standard - Metro Life , Nigel Wilson