Marginal Waters, shot by American photographer Doug Ischar in 1985, documents one of the most visible urban gay beaches in North America—on the Belmont Rocks in the city of Chicago—during the height of the AIDS crisis. The images are multi-layered, they “depict a seemingly edenic world of toned, sun-bathed bodies, behind which lurk the spectres of AIDS and reaction.”

Undertow, a three part exhibition featuring Ischar’s Marginal Waters, his installation work of the 1990s, and his recent experimental films, is currently on view at Gallery 44 in Toronto, as part of the Scotiabank CONTACT Photography Festival. It runs through June 15, 2013.