The theme for the 2016 Brighton photo biennial deals with identity by looking at the representation of minorities and urban sub cultures through the lens of photography:
"Beyond the Bias – Reshaping Image, explores photography’s role in defining and informing our understanding of subjects such as: gender and sexuality, the representation of the body, the politics of style, subcultures and the subversion of social and cultural norms."
Reimagine
I attended as part of the OCA study group weekend and we began our trip by looking at 'Reimagine' a collaborative exhibition between two photographers, Bharat Sikka and Olivia Arthur. The project photographed LGBTQ+ people in Mumbai, India and Brighton, UK. The work shown was made on large format film, using mainly B&W for India and colour for Brighton. On a first walk through I noticed that the work appeared to be separated by photographer and that made me wonder how much collaboration had taken place.
The content of the India work appeared more somber. This is due to the nature of the subject, where LGBTQ is still a highly political issue in that country. The choice of B&W also influenced my reading of the work. I was struck by an image where a couple (men?) appeared to be embracing on a beach in the shadows at night. The figures were distant and blurred, and there was a sense of danger because of the vulnerability of being exposed in a public place but also trapped because there was no private place to go. The portraits were more relaxed and taken inside and being in a private space, contrasted well with the public space images. My reading of the images were confirmed by the statement in the artist's handout:
"When I started making work in Mumbai I focused on private spaces. In their own space a sitter can be comfortable, really be themselves. People were being open about themselves and their sexuality beyond what I had been expecting, or hoping for. But I began to realise the context was missing for the project, that I needed something to show the sitter's boldness and the cultural background they were willing to show their image in... [...] Down by the beach, on the steps by the waterfront, even on the hard shoulder alongside the freeway, couples would try to find some privacy in a dark, but very public space."
The Brighton work appeared more relaxed and celebratory and had an element of fantasy and creativeness - mainly because the sitters were in the process of exploring themselves through clothes and body image. One of the standout portraits for me was of 'Loki". A bare chested man wearing a taffeta tutu is leaning out of a window. The room is in shadow and his body is half exposed by the sunlight. The metaphor in this image for me was all about the contrast between the projected and public face of masculinity (the bare and muscular chest juxtaposed by the lower body wearing a tutu in half shadow) and exploring a more feminine identity that needs to be kept private and suppressed - for the majority of males.
Loki "I grew up on a rough council estate. When I moved to Brighton I felt I was comfortable in a community that would accept a six-foot skinhead that could wear a taffeta tutu."
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