Homeland

Boy on the Corner
2005
copyright Brett Bell

I'm back in NYC cooling off in the mere eighty degrees temperatures after nearly a month straight in the hundreds - hoping the film that I brought back from Texas survived the heat, and eventually, some new images will begin to emerge.

Tonight, I am celebrating my return to the city with the opening of Homeland: Portraits of America's Queer Youth at Leslie/Lohman Gallery, including work by Molly Landreth and my very dear friend, Brett Bell.

According to the press release, Homeland: Portraits of America's Queer Youth is an exhibition that explores how GLBTQ youth from rural or suburban areas find and/or create community. In many locations across the United States, young gay, lesbian and trans people are geographically isolated from major centers of queer culture.

The work of photographers Brett Bell (of Missouri) and Molly Landreth (of Washington State) exemplify this challenging experience. With roots in rural Missouri, Brett Bell created a body of work that calls upon friends and acquaintances to express personal childhood experiences with longing and sexuality. Photographer Molly Landreth, in contrast, journeyed through America in search of queer people and documented their lives. In their juxtaposition, these images depict subjects, both real and fictional, that help create a picture of what it means to be queer in America today.

Homeland: Portraits of America's Queer Youth
The Photography of Molly Landreth and Brett Bell

Leslie/Lohman Gallery
26 Wooster Street

opening reception: Thursday July 16th, 6-8pm
thru October 10, 2009