I am creating an archive of queerness. I start with an interview/photoshoot of anyone who identifies as LGBTQIA+ and I give them authority over their image creation. Each sitter has control over what they wear, where the interview takes place and which image I use for their portrait. I then take their chosen images and process them as tricolor bichromate gum prints. The process is long and easily faltered but results in an image made from pinpoints of CMYK and each image is completely unique and archival. I am connecting with people in my community and asking them about what identity means to them, where they call home and what influences from arts and media have helped them evolve their identity. This project is a constant search for how individuals form their self-image and how art, media, and literature play a roll in that development. While the series is in its early stage I have begun to see a pattern showing the connection to various external influences from sources ranging from the writings of Ursula K. Le Guin to The Wizard of Oz both on and off-screen. While these influences are not overtly queer they set a standard of otherworldliness that speaks to a culture of people working against societal norms to create their own narrative. Each person I have interviewed so far has agreed that while they may or may not have been out in their formative years, access to an increased number of queer people in all avenues of arts and culture allowed them to formulate a vocabulary of self-awareness and acceptance.
