Portraits of Others

(A project initially commissionned by Waterside Arts Manchester, part of Pride in Trafford programme. Currently on tour in the North of England) ‘A series of photographs form an exploration of the gender and sexuality of individuals from Muslim backgrounds. The artist worked with a group of queers in Manchester who shared their stories and experiences of how their religious backgrounds had an impact on their sexuality and gender, and how this in turn influenced the way they perceive themselves. From darkened theatres to ‘first-times’ in local parks, to safe spaces in the home -participants engaged in choosing a location that had a relevance to their sexual experiences and of their lived experiece as people of colour in Britain today. A common factor amongst their stories was that of individual resistance - either to traditional values associated with their religion or to wider societal pressures that conflicted with their sexual identitiy. This friction was a souce of creative energy for some of the subjects who sought to challenge existing attitues and fight for inclusion; for others it was a personal obstacle to be surmounted in a struggle for acceptance. Through these intimate portraits, the work aims to highlight the point at which traditional religious identity and individual sexuality converge in contemporary British society and to prompt viewers to consider these complex intersections between sexuality, gender and religion.’