Queer on Camera
First, I’m very thankful for and honored to be a part of this opportunity for my friend’s thesis project.
As queer artists, it’s important for us to stick together and support each other—and I always live shooting work Norah, they bring infinite life to my ideas as well.
Norah’s project is so touching for me, and many others to see queer bodies in their safe spaces (or rooms where we can fully experience our identities).
I feel sentimental nostalgia whenever I look at these photos, especially ever since I no longer live in this room, or country for that matter, even though I poured so much of myself into this room—to the point where it felt like it was a living extension of myself, my creative ambition, and the embodiment of my thoughts conceptualized. Like myself, it was mine to design however I desired.
When I look around my current apartment, I’m content and I give myself credit for moving out on my own, but there are still many things I miss about my old room and way of living: particularly the people and the routines of my room, my bookshelf and all the annotated literature/textbooks, the clothes and collectibles I had to leave behind, and the fragile sentiments that I was too worried about being damaged in an international move… not to mention I miss my queen sized bed; although, my 2 cm twin sized futon has become the most comforting area of my new apartment.
It’s both liberating and disorienting to uproot and nurture a new life in a new place, and defining the space called home becomes confusing & complicating—but I’ve come to realize we all hold home inside ourselves. The most important things in this world—which completely shape our reality—are already inside our hearts and minds. Our love, passion, memories, feelings, ideas, wisdom, and energy are all we truly have that hold any value, and no one can replicate, steal, or destroy your intrinsic wealth. The personal home you built into yourself often outlives you, and the foundation influences others more than any material possession can.
“There’s no place like home…”
“Home is where the heart is...”
but maybe, “home is your heart, and when you open up to others, you let them enter into your home.”
Happy Pride Month to my community, and thank you to all of our allies for standing in solidarity with us and making momentum for us.
The greatest shoutout and thank you to Norah for asking me to be a part of this beautiful project.
