Kissing In The Graveyard

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Project Statement

Kissing In The Graveyard is an exploratory project in which I serve as curator and archeologist, mining my personal photo archive and searching through queer sites and artifacts to articulate my desires. In making this work, I move out of the proverbial closet and into the shower, a space of self-care, liquidity, and pleasure. These photographs serve as a trace of my erotic gaze and constant pursuit of intimacy with myself and the queer community at large.

Primarily, these photographs were taken during a summer study trip to Europe in 2018, which gave me space away from home to learn more about my identity and artistic self. I was inspired to make these photographs because of an intense crush I had on my roommate at the time, William. This experience allowed me to recognize my growing desires, particularly of men, which I had been internally silencing due to my conservative Catholic upbringing.

My trip led me to several hauntingly beautiful sites. I visited the grave of Oscar Wilde, where a monument resides of a nude winged figure. In 1961, the monument was vandalized when someone removed the testicles of the figure. I visited the Buchenwald concentration camp, one of several sites where Nazi’s tortured, killed, and experimented on countless “homophiles”. I visited Yves Saint Laurent’s studio, which houses his haute couture legacy and hints of his public relationship with partner Pierre Bergé. My camera allowed me to record these critical points of connection with a powerful history of queer artists and envision a space of liberation.