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“This photo shows myself and my flatmate at a trans rights protest outside the EHRC building in 2025. This was after the passing of their guildelines following the Supreme Court’s ruling on the legal definition of sex.”
‘Pinky Promise’
“This is a photo of me pinky promising my best friend something I can't really remember. We both came out as bisexual later and supported eachother through coming out to our chosen people. We both come from homophobic families so, to this day, we have only shared this part of ourselves with very few people. I am grateful we had each other back then and this image is a small testament of it.”
“This photo was taken on the day of my graduation, which was during pride month, in June 2024. For the occasion, I did my best rainbow eye makeup. I wanted to do this also to pay homage to my dissertation, where I explored queer identity. In this picture my fiancé is holding me with care and gentleness, in the way only he is capable of. I believe this photo represents what many queer people want and deserve: love, adoration, true and unconditional acceptance. Today, I am surrounded by my family of blood and of heart, my dear friends of Glasgow who made this place home for me and who cherish me as I am: pansexual and gender non-conforming. Queerness also means finding people to share your journey with, to experiment with gender and identity and just feel deeply loved along the way. This photo is incredibly special to me and I keep it in a locket that I wear everyday.”
“In August 2019, I saw Katherine Bradford’s Woman Flying at the Portland Museum of Art and immediately felt a deep connection to the work and Bradford’s description of the piece. The figure, naked and wearing a bright red cape, appears both strong and exposed while suspended in the air in a giant leap of uncertainty. Despite the title, the figure didn’t feel like a woman to me when I first looked at it, but rather just a person: genderless, vulnerable, and brave. I saw myself reflected. I bought a print of the painting from the museum gift shop and, an hour later, came out to my mom. This print has sat proudly on my bookshelf since, and is one of the few personal items I brought with me when I moved from the US to Glasgow; it serves as a reminder of my own leap of faith that day, and as a symbol of queer empowerment. On the shelf I keep a vase from my iconic lesbian landlord and a drawing of flowers, gifted to me by the person I am seeing on our second date.”
Print seen on the left: Katherine Bradford, Woman Flying, 1999, oil on canvas drop cloth, Portland ME, Museum of Art Collection.
“This image was actually taken on film during a night out in the south of Italy, I remember the lightness I was finally learning to embrace in those moments. The person on the right, holding a rose she had just received from a man at the bar, made things feel possible for me in a way they never did before. I ended up keeping that rose on my bedside table for months, looking at it every day before falling asleep.”
“I got gifted this carabiner for my birthday by two of my closest friends - one of whom I'd made a new years resolution with to lean more into our lesbianism. Though we did it because we found it funny it was also a way, at least for me, to be more visibly lesbian and do it with the contribution of my friends. I’ve since attached two charms gifted to me by two other friends - both them and the carabiner are red because I tend to wear a lot of monochrome red outfits. It feels significant to me because clothing has been so integral to my navigation of gender identity and queerness and it feels affirming to have people close to me recognise that. Turns out that wearing your keys directly on your clothes helps with not frantically looking for them everytime you head out too, which is definitely a bonus.”
“This picture was taken while I was attending the 2000 Trees Festival with my cousin. There, I felt more at home and accepted than in my own home. It was averaging 30°C the whole festival, so we had to buy fans. Pictured here is one of two matching fans I bought for us, and me with it. They were not only a life saver, but they also made me feel extra, were a perfect dancing prop and allowed me to help others keep cool. I think fans always have, and always will be, a symbol of queer fashion and spirit.”
“This jewelry box is the product of five years of collecting, gifting and finding: a ring made by a friend from a stone gifted to me by another, earrings from my partner which I wore until they broke, two rings I found at the back of a cupboard when moving out of my uni flat, a pendant my dad made for me. And underneath it all, an empty baggie of speed, my cats whiskers, a homemade birthday card from my ex, loose change and pretty rocks. It is an accumulation of my life, not all of it is significant and much of it I no longer use, but each piece holds memories of people and emotions.”
“I took this picture of myself after going for a long run and doing yoga, I was impressed by how intact the curls were after those activities. I shared it with one of my partners. This is a peak into my room as well: some wall decorations and my cats' travel crates stacked, my yoga mat, my mirror, a cat toy, etc. Selfies are a large part of my art practice: I use them to self reflect and share myself with people who aren’t physically close to me.”
“This is my good friend, Little Monkey. Me and my friends first met him when we went to IKEA to buy exhibition materials, so he followed us home and supervised our work every day. In the end, he was fortunate enough to become a member of the exhibition staff. I chose him because he seemed like a part of me that had been wandering around outside, and in the end, through contact with other people, he escaped from IKEA to the exhibition, but he still carried the IKEA logo.”