Since being awarded an Arts Council Project Grant to develop People Like Us last year, the project has more than doubled with new participants and its about time I showed off some more pictures!
I’ve been having a truly nourishing and joyful time talking to all sorts of brilliant people for the project. Some I approached who were on my radar and I’ve also had folk getting in touch with me asking to be involved which has been really great, seeing how the project is speaking to people and them wanting to join the gang makes me feel really good about what I’m doing here. Before this phase of development I was working with pals and people I knew from being out n about so it’s been a new experience working with folk I hadn’t met before. I needed to make sure there was still that level of intimacy and trust so I made sure to have a good chat with participants (usually on zoom) before setting up shoots and continuing the conversations building up to the moment we collaborated on making photographs.
Joey Hateley
Joey aka the ‘gender joker’ approached me last Spring after seeing the zine. They have been making work about their non-binary identity for as long as they remember; decades, so it’s very affirming that they wanted to be in this project and an accolade to have them. We created this image of them in the sky swinging from a tree to portray a feeling of both freedom and danger at the same time, relating to how Joey feels about their life lived as “a female man” and their experiences with the medical system and chest surgery.
The wardrobe photo is our tribute to Claude Cahun, a gender defier who was making images in the 1920s about their identity when there was no language; “Neuter is the only gender that suits me all of the time”.
Ymir also contacted me last Spring, after hearing me talk about the project on the podcast queers and co, saying hearing me talk made them feel more confident to get in touch and I’m so glad they did. Ymir doesn’t have many photos from the past due to internalized fat-phobia, which they have been working on with the help of groups like Anti Diet Riot Club and they really wanted this part of their life to be recorded. The shoot addressed a number of things from the pain and necessity of binding; “if I’m awake I’m binding”, to the decadence and conflict of enjoying their body, celebrating their belly and boobs.
“This image especially sums up my gender perfectly. Messy, full of clashing confusing colours and forever slipping out of my grip.”
Nneka approached me to be in our project because they wanted to document a period in their life where, whilst still exploring their non-binary gender identity, they were “looking for a way to exist in the body they have”. The shoot was a new experience for Nneka, it felt special and important, I love how photography can play a part in self-discovery.
I’ve worked with Ruby aka Justin Bond of Drag Syndrome a number of times and was always taken with that cheeky glint in her eye, I saw her and she saw me, and I knew I wanted her to be in the project so I was thrilled when she agreed. She loves to be seen as a “bad boy”, this is her favorite identity which she feels when she’s at her most confident. “I love it when people think I’m a guy, it makes me feel really good”. Ruby also told me how her mood dictates how she wants to express herself at different times, one day she’s a “punk with attitude”, the next she’s wearing a dress to socialize with friends. In the studio she was so fluid and creative - a total joy!
On taping and binding: “I like how it makes me feel like a man when I touch my chest” Ruby Bond
“My identity is changing and growing every day”. This shoot was the first time Mel had taken their top off on the beach, something that they’ve always dreamed of, but never quite had the confidence. “I loved it! I felt so comfy and safe and it was really special for me to come back to this place as an adult, to show myself how far I’ve grown as a person, and what a big kid I still am”. The power of photography to facilitate meaningful experiences and moments continues to excite and inspire me.
“Belly out, man pum pum out, rolls out, pecs out, scars out, sex out, cellulite out, thighs harmonising out, loving myself ALL THE FUCKIN WAY OUT!
I LOVE food and I LOVE sex and I LOVE being naked, I LOVE my juicy batty and my hairy bear belly, I LOVE the muscle I have built that is smothered in dough that is MY body.
I LOVE being trans.”
I stole this extract from a brilliant post Mika wrote to go with his photographs on Instagram, he said he found the shoot liberating and that he’d always fancied trying a nude but never done it before so I’m thrilled this project gave him the opportunity to go for it. We shared chips and laughs, whilst also discussing serious issues around body and identity politics and how he is defining black masculinity for himself.
Mika Johnson
This is about half of the new participants I photographed last year. I will dedicate a new post to the others next month but here’s a sneak preview of what to expect and who they are!
This year I am particularly interested in finding some older people to join the gang - over 50 ideally so if that’s you or someone you know please do get in touch and or if you’re looking at this and feel unrepresented I’d love to hear from you too - hollyrev@hotmail.co.uk
And by the way, it might look like everyone strips off but that’s not always the case and certainly not a prerequisite! I’m just as interested in people exploring with clothes etc whatever the participant wants to do :)