Myles Loftin Photography

TRUE BEAUTIES

For “True Beauties”, Myles Loftin Presents a selection of intimate portraits of figures from the original house of ballroom, The Royal House of LaBeija. Despite attention in mainstream media over the past few years, the general public’s understanding of the previously-underground world of ballroom ends with the 1990 documentary Paris is Burning. With this project, Loftin draws attention to the thriving contemporary ballroom community, which continues to have balls every week, with people traveling from across the country to compete.

In Loftin’s words, “This project is my way of saying that we are still here, and our existence is still a major influence on contemporary culture. It’s also extremely important for me as a Black queer artist to create a visual archive of the members of my community as a means to solidify our place in history. I want others to admire the beauty and talent that I see when I look at my brothers and sisters. Each portrait is an opportunity for the audience to connect and engage with an individual who they may not come across in their day-to-day life. I wanted these images to go beyond the clothing and the makeup and capture the essence of each individual house member. Viewers are met with an intimate gaze by the subjects, who bare their true soul for my camera.”

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