Spotlit

I saw a couple of great photography exhibitions at Liverpool’s Open Eye Gallery this afternoon.

‘Where Love is Illegal’ by Robin Hammond and ‘Wake Up Together’ by Ren Hang both document the bravery of LGBT people in some of the 70+ counties where same-sex relationships are against the law (in the former case) or heavily socially frowned upon (in the latter).

Hammond’s exquisite and moving portraits of individuals and couples from countries including Tunisia, Jamaica, Ghana, Uganda, Malaysia, Lebanon and Russia, are accompanied by handwritten, often heartbreaking, testimony from each of the subjects.

Hang’s photographs show naked men and women, defying social conventions in China with wit and beauty.

You can find out more at https://openeye.org.uk/whatson/WAKE-UP-TOGETHER/

Today’s Blip has nothing to do with any of the above, it’s just a fleeting moment that I captured on my way to catch the bus home!


Here’s a great song by Nakhane, a gay performer from South Africa - a country where, happily, same-sex relationships are not illegal - although homophobia, anti-gay violence and so-called ‘corrective rape’ still persist, as they do elsewhere in the world.

I love this video for ‘In the Dark Room’ (No, it isn’t about developing photographs!) https://youtube.com/watch?v=Or6PmoX5BOM