I follow the New Yorker on Instagram and they posted a blurb about a the photographs in Robin Hammond's "Where Love Is Illegal" photo series. The photos document anti-gay discrimination around the world. The subjects posted as they wanted to be seen, and most described the ways in which they were attacked. This is part of a larger online project that documents "LGBTI stories of discrimination and survival from around the world."
As technology and social media has growth as a tool for solidarity and bringing people together, this photo series spotlights the relationship between activism, oppression, and solidarity. I found the disjuncture between the photos and the stories behind them to be very thought-provoking for me, and perhaps for others as well.
The photographs are currently on display at the Bronx Documentary Center.
https://www.newyorker.com/culture/photo-booth/where-love-is-illegal-the-photographer-who-collects-stories-of-lgbti-discrimination-across-the-world
Thank you for sharing this! I found the photos very striking and personal while also distant. The photographs Hammond took were beautiful but what I found most breathtaking was the photo that the article references to, the selfie of Faried. I thought posed yet also casualness of the photo very disturbing. The other photos that the article posts are so much more posed and serious in a way. I also really like the photo of the person praying with the rosary (?). I wondered what the religious context of the photo was; are they praying as a way to find solace and hope? are they tackling with their religious views and their identity and how they might conflict? are they thinking about both of these things? neither? I don't know!
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