With few examples of happy, out queer lives to look back on before the 1970s, and even less visual evidence of them, I am creating an alternate world narrative for the uncle I didn’t know I had. A life story where fluidity in sexuality and gender are the norm. A life full of acceptance, friends and adventure. A life I would have benefited from knowing as a young, struggling gay man. Where who you love is immaterial. What’s important is that you love.

I recently learned that an uncle I never knew may have been gay. I was fascinated by the possibility that someone in my family may have gone through the same difficulties that I did when coming out. Since my mother divorced when I was a baby, my father’s side of the family is a mystery to me. My imagination quickly took hold and I decided to turn the lack of information into an opportunity to create a life for this uncle, not one of sad realities and fear, but of joy and authenticity where he could be free and uninhibited.

Collecting original, found snapshot photographs from all over the world, I have assembled a collection of images that capture our hero, Uncle Ken, with a sassy hip out in his teens or a loving kiss at his wedding. Normal, everyday moments of him, his friends and lovers, chosen with care. I have collected ephemera and created letters between him and loved ones as a way to share and fill-out more of his story. Engaging with the photos further, I am adding color and energy through glitter and rhinestones, a nod to the long history of queer nightlife and drag, to enhance the images with the spirit of joy and celebration. A celebration of not only what his world could have been, but what ours still can be.