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.
Visit mikefrenchcreative.co.uk for commercial enquiries