Sex and sexuality are components of a number of submissions, but even in these works, there is a sense of resignation and vulnerability.
Some focused on the constraints of space, while others chose to present defiance and resilience in their images. The photographers themselves communicated a range of feelings and sensations through their photos. From Tokyo to Phoenix, and Melbourne to Buenos Aires, we had submissions from 102 cities in 28 countries. As curators, we wanted to ensure that the images formed a collection and that changes in the physical dimensions and orientation would not detract from the collective message(s) contained within the collection.īy the end of April, we had received over 160 submissions from men ranging in age between 22 and 67 years old. The aspect ratio and orientation were chosen for presentational purposes. In that way, the photographer was more likely to consider the messaging and emotional content of the photograph, and how feelings of isolation and loneliness were impacting their lives during the pandemic. There is a great deal of scholarship on the "seated portrait," which we will not go into here, but for our purposes, the requirement had the effect of making the portrait a deliberate act. In all photos, the subject needed to be seated, the photos needed to be in portrait format at a 5x7 aspect ratio, and we wanted to avoid mirror selfies. The call for submissions had a few stipulations.
Our hope was to share varied experiences across age, ethnicity, and culture. As curators for the project, our objective was to have as broad and diverse a representation of this global experience as possible. Vincent Keith of MASCULAR Studio and Oliver Zeuke of Photomolekuel are pleased to announce the launch of A Portrait in Isolation, a project exploring emotional and physical space in lockdown.Īt the end of March 2020, as the COVID-19 global pandemic grew in scope and impact, gay men around the world were asked to submit self portraits that reflected their experience of the coronavirus lock-down.