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As part of Queer History Month, we invited our readers to submit their photo projects exploring queer culture, experiences, desire, and identity – here are the artists we selected to feature in No Turning Back at the Dazed Space
To celebrate LGBTQ+ History Month, we put out an open call to Dazed Club subscribers inviting them to submit a photo series or story that explored queer identity. After receiving over 200 global applicants, we selected eight artists to exhibit at the Dazed Space.
No Turning Back (curated by Dazed’s own Erica Travis and Eddie Langham) featured the work of artists from Toronto, Berlin, LA, NY, Paris as well as the UK. From a celebration of gender-defying skinheads to stories of “queer love, infatuation, and intimacy expressed in public space”, the show offered a rich and diverse selection of LGBTQ+ photography, alongside iconic Dazed covers of queer significance from the archive.
In addition to the exhibition, Dazed also collaborated with Lewisham’s PageMasters to put on a free zine-making workshop and queer zine fair, featuring creatives and publishers including Jesse Glazzard, Theo White’s 6FT, Smut Press, and Grrrl Zine Fair.
Visit the gallery above for a glimpse of what went down at the private view (shout out to LuvJus and Dalston’s for the refreshments!) while, below, we meet the eight artists featured in No Turning Back…
“I’ve always been open about my sexuality and preferences but never gave it a title until early this year. Having delved more into who I am as an individual and creative, I accepted that I’m queer which felt and feels liberating! I’d say that more of my current work channels the beauty of one’s freeness and solidarity. [My series] SKIN’EDS re-invents a subculture and celebrates shaved hair through both female and non-binary individuals who challenge society’s perception of the relationship between hair and gender. Balance, pattern, colour and depth [are the guiding principles of my work]. Having accepted my queerness to then see my work displayed at No Turning Back was a celebration – I felt as though everything had fallen into place beautifully for me.”
“I first came to photography in 2022. A lot of my friends were photographers. Being around them, I was captivated by the chaos of it all, particularly at packed-out raves and festivals. I bought a camera on eBay, and the rest came naturally. [I’m compelled by] an awareness that nothing lasts forever, I want to savour as much as I can. I want to make the world more beautiful, memorialise modern rave culture, and etch these fleeting moments into my mind. I draw inspiration from my imagination, my photos are how I perceive the world my perspective is unique and I want to share this with people.”
“I’m a portrait and fashion photographer based in Brampton, Ontario. The work featured in No Turning Back are portraits of my friend Afé Abeni, shot while I was visiting Kingston, Jamaica. My family are Jamaican and I thought it was very important for me to create something meaningful while I was there. Jamaica is said to be one of the most transphobic places on earth due to its religious teachings and its conservative views on gender and sexuality. I believe these portraits start a very important conversation about the trans body and spirituality.
“My practice explores themes surrounding race, gender, beauty, and historical narratives. By capturing the nuances of identity, beauty standards and cultural heritage, I offer viewers a deeper insight into the complexities of these intersecting identities using photography as a visual language. I draw inspiration through reading, fashion and looking at art – whether that be scrolling on Insta or visiting an exhibit of a friend.
“What compels me to create is addressing social issues and exploring the Black identity through personal narratives or delving deeper into certain themes and concepts that reflect artistic vision and creative expression. With this particular work, I wanted to focus on spirit/Christ. I wanted this series to dismantle all the heteronormative programming that we received as children growing up. I thought it was important to pose many questions concerning the body, and the metamorphosis that it goes through and draw the parallels to nature. That queerness is a very natural thing, we’re just taught otherwise.”
“My father gave me a 35mm camera for my 16th birthday and I realised the autonomy it created in me. Being behind the camera created a new dynamic between myself and the people around me – people suddenly saw me because they wanted to be seen by me.
“The major thing for me, no matter the format, is to lean into storytelling and also to break free of all that we hold on to and try to control or make sense of… doing all I can to see the best and most beautiful the world can be. The biggest theme in my work is love. I find stories of love, desire, loss, heartbreak etc. to be so important. When you spotlight, explore and document those stories, it connects people. The world feels a lot smaller – tighter-knit and more relatable.
“Growing up in a rural area with limited exposure to queer life, I never witnessed someone like me being able to fully embrace their identity for fear of bullying or violence. So, it’s been important to me as I grow my career to seek these stories out, learn and grow from them. Not only does it shape my own journey and personal identity as a queer man, but I truly feel like when a full spectrum of queerness is showcased in art, entertainment and media, the wider the acceptance will grow outside the community. I want my work to inspire people to stand out and never be fearful of fully embracing what makes them magic.”
“My name is Emalea Jones, I am a photographer, director and production designer based in London. My project Run with me? is inspired by the honest grit of 90s and early 00s movies. I wanted it to feel like a mix between film stills, documentary-style photography and editorial. Real life couple Matt and Tin star in their own fake coming-of-age story set in downtown Los Angeles, their love is the beauty amongst all the grim.
“For the most part, I’m not consciously thinking about commenting on queerness, However with projects recently – especially with Run with me? – my aim was to celebrate romance – something that I resonate with. I love love and want to showcase more of that in many forms.
“In the past, I’ve enjoyed celebrating others with how they want to be seen in their identity, specifically queer musicians such as Chrissy Chlapecka, ZAND and Girli, helping to visually communicate and amplify their voices and their identities. It’s only recently that I have started working on my own projects, creating narratives that have a bit more of me in them. I’m currently working towards a short film centred around the societal alienation that comes from being on the asexual spectrum.”
“I’m a Colombian Latin photographer based in Barcelona and my work featured in No Turning Back represents different labels of my vision for queer life, creativity and fun. My intention is to give visibility to our community. I’m very motivated to keep exploring and creating stories. I think my intention is for the queer community to tell their stories to visualise themselves and their impact on our society.”
“I’m a photographer based currently in Berlin but, having grown up in Warsaw during a period of burgeoning social movements, I got a big attachment to a journalistic aesthetic – a bit rough and dynamic. At the same time, I like the smoothness and poetic potential of photography.
“I started working on the project Resting Positions in June 2023 to celebrate Pride month. The photographs from this time were taken in Berlin and Paris, portraying the unique and intimate connections shared by nine diverse queer couples. I aimed to capture authentic displays of affection in public spaces. This endeavour involved street casting and utilising social media platforms to connect with real individuals who became the models for the series.
“The camera gives me the feeling that I can observe everything around me, because I have an excuse to take a picture. Without the camera, I had to look at the floor as I walked, avoiding the gaze of other students at school because it often provoked attacks and homophobic challenges. I found a safe space in photography. The camera gave me the strength to live my life and record it as I perceived it.
“I take on various projects, not all specifically queer, but I approach them with a queer sensibility. Resting Positions project is special to me because it deals with queer love, infatuation, and intimacy expressed in public space – sometimes boldly emancipated, other times discreetly hidden or on the sidelines.”
“I am a 23-year-old non-binary person. My artistic practice revolves around photography, music, video, and the relationships between these mediums. I like to approach my photographic work as a celebration of sincerity among queer individuals. For the exhibition No Turning Back, I presented some snapshots from my photographic series Boring Angels, which discusses the relationship between queer people and their portraits. After lengthy discussions with my models, I include their dreams, their nightmares, their ambitions and their struggles through the process of shooting and editing, where I alter and saturate my images. This exchange gives an insight into a past reality and tells a story about the reappropriation of our imagery.
“I discovered photography when I was in high school, and I started working on projects with my friends. I would ask them to pose for me in my boarding school room. We used our desk lamps as a light source, coloured transparent sheets to create light filters... and we had fun like that. I always like to say that you can do photography with anything, and that you can get beautiful shots quickly.
“I draw a lot of inspiration from industrial arts and fashion imagery, colour-grading and composition. I admire Jean Vincent Simonet and Quentin Lacombe who experiment extensively with random photographic techniques. I’m also very attracted to pop imagery because it has a strong connection with music. I aim to draw inspiration from the visual representation of sound composition, much like artists such as Arca, Sophie, and Oneohtrix Point Never, who have developed a visual and musical universe.”