Representation of gay men and queer communities in the history of photography
Pablo Lerma has spent the past three years researching the concept of masculinity and the lack of representation of gay men and queer communities in the history of photography.
His exhibition It Doesn’t Stop at Images tells a new story with images from the magazine Homologie (1978-1997) that breaks the stereotype and the ‘cliché’ images of the gay community.
Three groups
Homologie was a cultural-scientific magazine that published on the history of homosexuality and developments in gay studies.
Pablo Lerma went through this magazine chronologically and selected images that specifically represent the experiences of gay men. Pablo Lerma rearranged and reframed these images into three thematic groups.
The first group contains images of the body, the second group contains images about norms and expectations and the third group contains images about love, relationships and communities.
In addition to the section on the Homologie magazine from the IHLIA collection, the exhibition also consists of two parts in which the representation of gay men in the USA and in Spain is highlighted.
About Pablo Lerma
Pablo was born in the 80s in Spain, has lived in the USA for almost seven years, and in 2019 moved to the Netherlands. He realised his identity in the 90’s, and grew up surrounded by visually stereotypical representations of gay men in mass culture.
Time has passed, but those stereotypes live on. Even the archives that are dedicated to queer legacy often lack alternatives. Take family pictures for example: the genre that bridges generations, creates a sense of belonging, and shapes collective memory; gay community cannot find itself there.
Location: IHLIA Plaza, Oosterdokskade 143, 3rd floor (OBA Oosterdok)
When: 25 November 2021 – 13 February 2022
READ | WATCH | LISTEN
Lerma dedicates his practice to constructing a counter-history of gay men, gay (extended) families, and masculinity. This ultimately resulted in the It Doesn’t Stop at Images exhibition, which he created especially for Pass It On. Private Stories, Public Histories has developed last year. Pass It On is an initiative of FOTODOK
Photography exhibition at IHLIA Plaza: Fabian Landewee
Instagram Live sessions
During the exhibition period, Pablo hosted two Instagram Live sessions. This is the second in a series of two in which Jim van Geel interviews Pablo:
Text continues below video
The previous session can be found here.
