Look, Go, Touch Photography Queer
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Loading... - Mawar Anam
- 04 Jul 2022
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It cannot be denied that the queer community*, despite being a minority in society, is a link in the composition of Vietnamese society and culture. They appear in movies and mass media, through word of mouth or face-to-face encounters. Despite having gone through a long journey to be able to appear publicly, most queer people still have to adhere to specific standards of behavior and self-presentation.
Photography, with its instantaneous nature and ability to give the photographer total control, provides the opportunity for the queer to proactively create a space of their own where queer reality can truly glimmer. In the hope of outlining the directions and consequences of those practices, I contacted four artists: Mat Bet, Hoang Anh Nguyen, Nguyen Quoc Thanh and Kai Nguyen, to discuss the ways in which imagery can can cultivate or illuminate contemporary queer identities and experiences.
The diary of Mat Bet 's daily life with her girlfriend was shared by her on her personal Instagram page and recently in the group exhibition of Broken Museum (2021). True to the title Together , the girlfriend appears startlingly close, no more than an arm's length away from the camera, as if any subtle disturbance would affect her calm demeanor. The close distance is a contrast to the Love is Love series(2012) by Maika Elan came out almost ten years ago. Despite exploiting the same personal scene, Maika keeps her distance from her subject, consistent with her position as a mere observer. Bet's eyes erase that distance. Even when she is not in the frame, the closeness of the photographer exudes undisguised affection. We implicitly understand the context here is the common living space of two people.
Mat Bet's photo sends an invitation to experience the fragile and sincere emotions in a queer relationship from an insider's perspective. This message is emphasized in the exhibition design of the Broken Museum. Walking up to the mezzanine floor and through the corridor, viewers stop in front of a screen printed with underwear hanging from the drying rack. Mat Bet shared that the couple's mixed clothes on the balcony help partially hide their private life from the eyes of the residents of the opposite apartment. At the exhibition, the translucent fabric does not have the effect of separating, but plays the role of shifting the viewer's mood from bystanders to visitors. The gallery space is half-closed and half-open, leaning against the cozy corner of the loft. Here, the small print on the wall pulls the viewer closer, similar to stepping into the private life of a couple, where love is expressed through simple gestures. Giving viewers these intimate experiences comes from Mat Bet's trust in home visitors,
If the underwear in Mat Bet's photo is seen as proof of life together, the binder is a contradictory object in Hoang Anh Nguyen 's Gender Bound (2019) photo series. . On the one hand, the corset helps Hoang Anh feel more confident when tightening a part that she, with the designation butch*, does not want to show. On the other hand, the item has a physical impact on the body, creating an uncomfortable feeling of constriction and can even have long-term health consequences. Performing with a corset in front of the camera is a way for her to question her relationship with a seemingly inanimate item that involves many problems. In the first photo, she looks at herself in the mirror while trying to compress her breasts with a corset. The shape of tight breasts is reproduced in the next picture, this time held by a girl with a hidden face. No longer busy adjusting the cardigan to fit, Hoang Anh relaxed his hand on the other's ankles. The change in posture was accompanied by a change in mentality: she shared that she no longer wanted to endure the frustration of having to wear a bra,
Gender Boundpublished by Hoang Anh on his personal website, revealing to the audience the private and unique suffering of individuals who are determined to trade physical pain for a body image that is more compatible with their gender identity. She pondered many times over her decision to publicize her private moments, revealing not only her skin but also her sadness about her body image, thoughts that are often hidden or just whispering to the closest person. . Presenting the project so openly means that she herself must first acknowledge and accept the imperfection of her current state. Through this, Hoang Anh wishes to share her feelings with family and friends, who do not understand the experience of living in disagreement with biological characteristics and have not recognized the legitimacy of gender expression outside the standard of gender identity. male, female. Read More…
