Michaela has written her piece on Pride this month, as it is one of themes we run each year.
Beaming with Pride
Pride means celebration, inclusion, happiness, diversity and being united. While these things are all tangible, it can be hard to define some of these things – they’re more of an atmosphere, a feeling and an environment. Visually, usually filled with colour, beaming with hope and happiness nodding to the rainbow flag we all know represents safety, support and celebration. Pride is about not hiding away in fear but standing loud and proud for what matters – equality for all regardless of sexuality.
One artist who radiates this in their work is Spanish photographer, Lídia Vives. In her powerful image, ‘The Rival’ (2015) we witness two young women kissing passionately, not only does the beautiful portraiture of the shot make this a celebration of their love, it also challenges us to think about misconceptions and complexities of same sex relationships. The phrase we have all probably heard at some point is that somebody may ‘bat for the other team’ – and Vives is playing on this here by placing the two cheerleaders in the photo in different outfits – from different teams. This playful acknowledgement of social references to same sex relationships gives the power back to those in the shot in the confrontational yet elegant composition, celebrating the moment.
Another artist who personifies celebration is California based Jeffrey Cheung. Cheung’s work is a colourful explosion of joy and unity. His signature intertwined characters have become famous for popping up in street art spots and transforming their environment into a celebration of queer and trans people of colour. His works often include figures with an abmbiguous gender in a flurry of togetherness. In his acrylic painting ‘Dance?’ (2022) we are presented with an eye catching rainbow palette of characters intertwined in a way that is almost rhythmic, we can sense the life and movement in the piece and the joy of those characters within. This is giving the spotlight to those who may be trans people of colour for us to recognise the beauty of this scene, challenging stereotypes of art history that have neglected representations of all genders and sexualities.
What both artists do here in very different compositions is draw attention to something that we need to take notice of. The beauty of both pieces draws upon the subjects within who in society have often been misunderstood or stereotyped. Both of these pieces are a celebration of humanity in all of its forms – a big middle finger to those who don’t acknowledge the beauty and legitimacy of LGBTQ+ relationships, the pieces are rightly beaming with pride.