Photographer Paul Mpagi Sepuya’s portraiture subverts the notion of ‘the gaze’, powerfully and intimately capturing queer lives and bodies, an ‘other’ that over the course of history has been oft overlooked, ignored and erased by heteronormative society. His studio portraiture displays both startling candour and teasing concealment.
In Sepuya’s most recent exhibition (currently on show at the Vielmetter Gallery in Los Angeles until 20 June 2020), not only are queer bodies seen and, to varying degrees, exposed, but the frequent presence of the camera in these images results in a queering of a gaze that has now been turned on the viewer. And so, complicit dialogue — or mutual observation — unfolds, putting the artist, subject and viewer on an equal footing: an act that is as politically powerful as it is intensely personal.
“The most satisfying thing is seeing something that works, all of a sudden, after those long stretches of boredom or feeling lost or making attempts that fall just short of ‘right.’ The moment when it comes together is thrilling,” he says.
The current pandemic means that he hasn’t visited his studio for a while.
“I am lucky to have a home with plenty of room including yard space and garden so being under stay-at-home I have had time to work (teaching, countless Zooms leading to fatigue) but also stay sane.”
Sepuya uses social media to stay in touch with friends (“it’s as easy as texting or calling”) but says his Instagram account is no longer his “own”: “it’s used for whatever events or press or exhibitions to tag me and cross-promote so for the past few years I have ceased to post any personal content. Just work and the rare observation.”
He adds: “I never post work in progress, or make work based on social media interaction or approval. As a teacher, I tell both undergrads and grad students to never ever post work on Instagram until it’s been decided on the wall. The choices that go into making artwork are not the same as social gratification.”
Paul Mpagi Sepuya lives and works in Los Angeles. His work has been exhibited widely, both in the USA, Europe and elsewhere and is contained in collections such as the Museum of Modern Art and Whitney Museum of American Art, New York. He is an acting associate professor at UC San Diego.