Pride in the Moment

To be queer rejects the notion that there is a singular “normal”. Aside from orientation or gender, being queer holds a cultural dimension that reflects the complexity of human diversity.

I don’t photograph the spectacle of pride as an outsider looking in. I am there as another queer, everyday person, capturing other everyday people celebrating their sense of being. Capturing the serendipitous moments that happen when a group of likeminded people come together in unity.

This collection of photographs embrace authentic human interactions. As queer people, we do not fit neatly into predefined boxes; diversity is more than eleven predefined colours and the edges are often blurred. Black and white removes this ambiguity and focuses the audience on the people, regardless of how they identify.

There is a misconception that Pride is just a colourful party, only for LGBTQ people to attend. This is not the case and Pride, as a fundamental idea, exists to reinforce the need to treat everyone with dignity and respect. To this day, hateful slurs are still directed to queer people in broad daylight. I’m interested in the way queer people alter their behaviour amid the safety net of pride events.

The confidence that exudes from this young person caught my attention. If there's ever a reason needed for Pride events, it is this. Our younger generations are growing up feeling more confident to be their authentic self - instead of keeping it bottled up and letting it eat away at them from within.
Unguarded, tactile moments are captured unnoticed when people feel at ease in their surroundings. Where the same couple may not feel safe to walk down a street hand in hand normally, Pride events offer a safer space.
With a procession of up to 10,000 people, It's impossible to capture everything at a Pride march but there is no shortage of compassionate embraces like this one.
A pride flag is caught in a gust of wind and floats symbolically freely in the air.
From the comfort of an apartment, an on-looker watches the enthusiastic supporters of a parade march.
I witnessed this person being photographed earlier in the day many times; I think for the wrong reasons. Pride can be detrimentally sensationalised with images being taken out of context. Not only does the individual act differently in a march, the crowd starts to influence itself on a macroscale.
It is this combined energy that empowers others to be authentic.
It's impossible for drag to be anything other than a spectacle. By its very nature, it is a flamboyant, glamourous expression of identity freedom. However, those who practice drag have an incredible confidence that's impossible not to be influenced by.