Murray Hill is a well-known New York comedian and drag king. He is the self-proclaimed “hardest-working middle-aged man in show business.”

Murray’s portrait comes from the LEGENDS series, capturing the people who spearheaded a movement that wasn’t a given. They are actors, advocates, DJ’s, performers, and much more. They are the trailblazers who presented an honest vision that clashed against societal norms as we knew them. They were not trendy, but instead are “trendsetters”. These actions alone placed them in harm’s way; due to homophobia, they could have been killed. But they were the lucky ones. And, many decades later thanks to their combined struggles and persistence, our queer and non-gender conforming communities can finally begin to live in their own skins. We are being acknowledged within institutions as the legal system begins to give us long overdue rights in the workplace and equality in marriage policies; we access gender-free lavatories; and in many places, even school children are now able to designate their chosen pronoun.

This transparent progress has been ushered in only through the guidance of Murray’s and his fellow LEGEND’s refusal to be anything other than themselves. They are included here in thanks for their lack of complacency. Instead, they lived – and still live –their lives, fighting daily battles of homophobia, transphobia, racism, and sexism. Although we are still demanding full equality, the state of affairs has changed dramatically because of these folks. Where there was once no canon, each LEGEND, in their own beautiful way, has harnessed a pride that transcends hate. They made it possible for the LGBTQ+ community to not only survive, but live a life of love.

DJ Kinky D is from London’s East End. She is also known as Dionne Bailie, and has been spinning in such destinations as Dubai, Duha, and Bangkok for some years now. This piece comes from a series of larger- than-life size color portraits probing the impact skin pigmentation plays on black identity and consciousness. Primarily due to the melanin count of their skin, light- and dark-skinned blacks’ opportunities can differ enormously, from overt favoritism to extreme alienation. Kobena Mercer calls this hierarchical bias based on skin tone a “pigmentocracy”. This scandalous and often heart-wrenching storyline dates back to colonial America, and it clearly perseveres today.

In (sur)passing, the models are shot with a large format camera from towering urban vantage points. Highlighting the regeneration of a new inner-city culture, they become divine: larger than the purposely out- of-focus buildings of the London, New York and South African skylines contrasting with the sharp, crisp rendering of the individual. The subjects assertively return the viewer’s gaze without being confrontational. In the upcoming exhibit at Autograph, these four-foot by five-foot photographs will be hung above eye level, so that the viewer has no choice but to “look up”to these young people posed as if characters from a modern Shakespeare melodrama.
So, as the title (sur)passing suggests, these portraits represent a “new generation”– one that is above and beyond “passing”. We represent a fresh pride and strength, where ambiguity and blurred borders create an individuality that elevates consciousness and advances a plethora of positive imagery of my beloved people.

Mixed race, genderfluid, and a world traveler, Kinky D challenges us to consider how the various pieces of our identity overlap, influence, contradict, and bolster each other. Her inclusion here also serves to remind us of the importance of inclusive diversity within queer movements, as the oppression of any supports the oppression of all.

Zola is a young musician who is clearly in command of the way that she presents herself. She is genderfluid and is lucky to have the support of her moms.

SURMISE is an insider’s account of the many ways genderqueer people are perceived, and how visual representations of gender affect our psyches and society. This ongoing portraiture series features images of people whose appearance are genderfluid. Due to the shifting nature of the political climate and status quos around gender identities, the visual and verbal lexicon around gender and sexuality is in rapid transformation. Flash’s series seeks to highlight the stories and capture the images of people whose personal presentations challenge societal norms. This photographic series reminds us how misunderstandings and misrepresentations related to perceived gender, sexuality, and sexual orientation are often painful – and in too many cases, life threatening.

Zola’s inclusion here highlights the impact that gender-based assumptions and enforced stereotypes have on us, even from a very young age…and celebrates what is possible when the freedom to explore self and identity is given. Zola and young people like her are constantly creating brave spaces through their refusal of the standard gendered performance. It is our job to ensure their bravery is met with safety and encouragement.

Flash is a queer artist who uses photography to challenge stereotypes and offer new ways of seeing that transcend and interrogate gender, sexual, and racial norms. She received her bachelor’s degree from Maryland Institute and her master’s from the London College of Printing (University of the Arts London). Flash works primarily in portraiture with a 4×5 film camera, engaging those who are often deemed invisible. In 2008, she was a resident at Light Work in Syracuse, and in 2015, she was artist-at-large at Alice Yard in Trinidad. Flash was awarded an Art Matters grant which allowed her to further two projects in Brazil and London. Flash has work included in important public collections such as the Brooklyn Museum and the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. Her work is also featured in the publication Posing Beauty, edited by Deb Willis, currently on exhibit across the US. In 2017, she co-led a talk at the Bronx Museum with Sur Rodney Sur, speaking to the glaring lack of women artists and persons of colour with respect to their Art AIDS America exhibition.

Flash’s work welcomes audiences who are willing to not only look, but to see. This piece from circa 1990 is a self-portrait modelling a commitment to actionability, taken as part of her work with ACT UP during the time of the AIDS epidemic in New York City. Critically questioning gender, sexuality, sexual orientation, and social expectations requires that we all regularly frame, shoot, and retake self-portraits, holding our behaviours and assumptions up to a mirror of examination and consideration. The highlighted slogan, “AIDS is killing artists, now homophobia is killing art” calls us to take action against prejudice in all its forms, championing creativity and community over fear. Lola’s openness in this piece reminds each of usthat building “Brave Space”requires trust, vulnerability, and commitment to work that may often feel unending – but is far from unyielding.