This evening we were booked to do a live photoshoot for our ongoing project ‘People Like Us’ at Scottee and Friends event 'An Uncomfortable Relationship with Masculinity', which was planned to happen within the ‘Masculinities’ photography exhibition at the Barbican. We were to be positioned in the gallery showing Catherine Opie’s series ‘Being and Having’ from 1991.
Barbican Installation View
Although the projects demographic and intentions are different there is an interesting dialogue between Opie’s images and ours.
“The 13 photographs that make up ‘Being and Having’ consist of close-up portraits of Opie’s friends from the alternative club scene at the time, sporting fake facial hair and other stereotypical masculine accessories. Carefully posed against a yellow backdrop, the subjects gaze directly at the camera while they playfully borrow these masculine signifiers and mimic ‘manliness’.” (Barbican)
Catherine Opie - Being and Having - 1991
Our project ‘People Like Us’ being created 18 years later with friends from London’s queer performance community and beyond uses a similar direct gaze taking an unapologetic stance, but rather than borrowing masculine signifiers to mimic ‘manliness’, the participants - all AFAB (assigned female at birth) take aspects of so-called masculinity for themselves and transcend ‘manliness’, rather than mimic it they own it and redefine it, continuing the conversation that Opie and others set out.
At tonights event, TOGETHER participants would have been TAKING UP SPACE, BEING SEEN and INFILTRATING an exhibition which lacks the presence of ‘People Like Us’.
So due to the inevitable closure of the Barbican we decided to use this date to share some of the work we have made together so far, both here and on social media.
TONIGHT at about 7pm there will be a multi-drop of images being released from the project on Instagram and other platforms so keep an eye out for those and follow participants: @brumble_hag, @georgeousmichael, @azaram, @trainwithbecca, @stampchiron, @prinxchiyo, @laurabridgeman, @felixislucky, @jen_smethurst, @krishnaistha, @mxleomilk, @lucy.hutson, @sabah.c, @kayisagay
Thanks for your time and to see more from the project head over to Projects