Pieter Hugo: X Hood By Air, (2016)

Pieter Hugo: X Hood By Air, (2016)

Artist Statement

For this series – a collaboration with NYC clothing label Hood By Air and stylist Carlos Nazario – I travelled to Jamaica in early 2016 to shoot a series of provocative portraits featuring male porn stars and Gully Queens wearing select pieces from the brand’s archive. A community of gay and transgender youth living in Kingston, Jamaica, the Gully Queens have been violently forced from their homes and left with no other recourse but to seek refuge in a storm drain, or “gully,” beneath the city. Yet, despite such dire circumstances, this underground world is a sanctuary where individuals unwilling to compromise their identity can go to find shelter, the embrace of commonality, and the freedom to live differently.


This has been developed into a capsule collection called “Galvanize Jamaica”. Available to purchase from Hood By Air’s website, the collection features seven oversized tees printed with pictures from the book

Annotations

These project realities to him travailing around Jamaica photographing LGBTQ members to promote a line of clothing.

What is denoted?

The images showing models posing in clothing in Jamaica for the company hood by air.

What is Connoted? & How are you affected as a viewer? !!! 

The work communicates the style of clothing that the brand has on offer. The work has got the symbolism of them not being classed as ‘normal’ due to the sexuality of them all. The first thing that people will look on is the subjects due to them being presented to be the centre of attention. The work is important to understand this about clothing when people do not read into it as if they were to look at it in the newspaper as an advert. The image communicates different environments showing that the clothing can be worn anywhere at any time. The colour has been to show that they are also wanting to blend in with normal people with them being LGBTQ.

What makes this work significant to you (and or your project)?

I like that the work has got different locations where it is being shot at because it makes people understand that they can dress like that at any place. I am planning on taking the idea that he is working in different places but makes sure at every location that the composition does not change.

What are the strengths & weaknesses of what you’re looking at?

The Strengths of this work is that it stands out like saw thumb so people are more likely going to see this work in posters. I think the weakness is that the information about this project is poor and is harder to get an understanding of what the work is all about.

What ideas (or visual styles) will you take forward to think about in your work?

I am planning on taking forward that none of the subjects is shot against consistent backgrounds however they are all posed at the same distance from the camera. I am planning on taking forward the positioning and the message that is showing the way the subjects are all been positioned. The work stands out to be as it is something different than him just working in Africa.

Who is the intended audience?

The Intended audience is for people looking to by the clothing that Pieter Hugo is wanting to promote. The other audience is people are interested in the communities he is shooting to work as a documentary based project for others. This is a clothing advertisement job that Pieter Hugo shot.

What context have you seen the work in?

I have only seen this work on his website and online, this only allows me to see it from a digital preservative and is harder to get the magnetite of the power in the main photographers that he has worked.