Following the cancellation of his senior exhibition, New York-based photographer Myles Loftin presents his work to i-D.
This past spring, I took a semester abroad at London College of Communication and during my six months in London I had a lot of time to myself. During this time, I tried to make sense of the realities of my existence as a 22-year-old black queer man. I was thinking about the way that I, and people like me, navigate society. I was also thinking about the ways we have or have not been represented within media.
As a black queer person, conversations around representation and inclusion within visual culture (specifically photography) become complicated. We are often ostracised in both the general queer populous as well as the black community. And our inclusion in the overall canon of photography and art is scarcely documented, despite significant contributions to history.
My current project “In the Life” expands upon this exploration and focuses on the exclusion of black queer life in photography. “In the Life” is queering black history by challenging the lack of visual representation accorded to queer identities. I am creating an archive of images that black queer people can look to for solace or inspiration. The photographs depict black queer people both in public and intimate settings performing everyday tasks. Extreme care is given to each photograph in order to elevate the mundanity and humanity of our collective lived experiences.
Credits
Photography Myles Loftin