A glimpse of "us" by Miko Wu
A glimpse of "us"
"Self and Companionship" and “A Place of Your Own” are the two themes my project has taken onto a quest in exploring the lives of East Asian gay men in contemporary GTA. This project is a tribute to the journey of queer history, and the Asian perspective from a contemporary lens and experiences.
During my visit to the archive section at the Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library, I was introduced to the archival collection for Professor Larry Wayne Richards. The records on file have presented me with a glimpse into his personal life as a member of the LGBT community with his partner and friends. The archival materials, especially the photos and negatives, inspired me to explore the creative project through the form of photography. I experimented with both polaroid and film photography during my creative process instead of a smartphone or digital camera shooting to further attempt on embedding a sense of nostalgia and exploration of reminiscence for project pieces.
My focus is towards an enquiry at the lives of gay men within GTA, particularly potentially with an international East Asian immigrant background. I interviewed two Chinese gay couples in their mid-20s who immigrated from China during their youth or undergraduate and are now working and living in GTA. While discussing their self-identify and their thought on queerness, both couples had one person feel more sensitive about their queer identity while the other one felt relatively comfortable about it. The sensitivity is sourced from either their family upbringing or particular family religion, the regional culture of their hometown also plays a role in shaping their perceptions towards the world.
Through their stories, I have found that both couples have a balance of different perspectives and life attitudes. They are willing to adapt to each other, helping and supporting each other to become better. Both mentioned observing other gay people, single or partnered, how others are questing their life, which provokes their own thought about living and finding peace with themselves and with the world. Both couples have one person who would be more verbal and willing to voice their queer part of identity and would appreciate the sense of community while the other one is more on the keep it to yourself side.
Residing in Toronto, both couples have built a home of their own where you can find the calming breath of life, appreciation of life rituals, and a sense of romance in every corner of the space. The different interests and values of the two people beautifully collide and infuse in harmony,
The final pieces selected for display are digitized either through scanning or digital shooting and then curated for addition to the online exhibition archive. This project is a celebration of love, memories, and the diversity of the Asian queer community living in contemporary GTA.
