This project had been simmering in my mind for some time. I felt compelled to respond to the challenges our community faces with something bold and affirming. It needed to be a protest, a declaration of our identity and values. While anger often clouds my ability to articulate in words, channeling that energy into a creative display—specifically, "Proud Portraits"—felt utterly right.
During a Zoom catch-up amidst the pandemic, my friends and I discussed the TV show "It's a Sin." In that conversation, a friend twenty years my junior (I was 52 at the time for context) noted how the show highlighted the deep-seated shame experienced during the era depicted—an era I lived through. It was a profound realization, like the snap of a bright, illuminating ring light; the antithesis of Pride is Shame. Shame was what I had been grappling with; it shadowed my sense of pride.
Reflecting on my journey, I realized the origins of this shame. I've battled depression and mental health challenges for nearly two decades, feeling a deep-seated shame about succumbing to these struggles.
Furthermore, I carried shame about becoming HIV positive at 37, despite being armed with education and knowledge about prevention. It wasn't the status itself, but the feeling of having let down those around me, including my mother—who, when I came out at 15 in Belfast, feared exactly this scenario.
Determined to shift from shame to pride, I envisioned a series of images celebrating queer individuals embracing their true selves. My goal was to create a platform that not only highlighted the vibrancy of the LGBTQ+ community but also supported its most marginalized members.
This vision caught the attention of Simon Backhouse, then CEO of Fiorucci, who offered me the opportunity to showcase these images in a window takeover at their flagship store on Brewer Street in Soho, London. This exhibition was not just a display of photographs but a vibrant declaration of queer pride and resilience.
My dream is to take Proud Portraits on the road internationally, meeting proud queer humans, capturing their image and giving voice to the many who are silenced in society.
