Queer Chicano Archives: My Trip to Chicago and the Friends I Met Along the Way
archival inkjet prints
4.5 x 3
2000 - 2009
Queer Chicano Archives: My Trip to Chicago and the Friends I Met Along the Way began in the spring of 2000 as a series of brief collaborations with club patrons in three of Chicago’s Queer Latino nightclubs - Circuit, Chesterfield’s, and La Cueva. Handing out disposable cameras; I asked participants to photograph and document the night’s activities. Over time, the project expanded beyond the initial exchange and I was photographing friends, and others who I met along the way. Surrounded by colored lights, dark interiors, music, movement, and the intimacy of the club environment, these portraits are made up of men, couples, friends, and strangers who became part of a nightly and meaningful community. Printed at 4½ x 3 inches, the images carry the scale and intimacy of travel snapshots I remember as a boy - their small-size inviting a more intimate gaze reflecting the nature of the encounters they document. The documentation of place and the people who give life to those places has always been central to my work. Through these photographs, I wanted to honor the faces, the light, friendships, and intimate embraces that shaped my experiences in Chicago’s Queer nightclubs. This archive is both personal and communal: a record of the people I met along the way and a tribute to the communities where one might find friendship, lovers, memories, and a sense of belonging.
