Freddie, Prince, George and Kenedee is a collection of self-portraits that re-create photographs of musicians from the 1970s and 80s.

This body of work is influenced by Freddie Mercury, Prince, and George Michael. These three musicians have served as role models for me throughout my life. Freddie, Prince and George have directly influenced my style, art-making, and character. I am inspired by the way that Freddie Mercury performed with every ounce of his soul onstage, the way he styled himself in the most dramatic ways with a lack of regard for gender conformity, and how he serves as one of the only bisexual representations I’ve ever known.  Prince brought a sense of clarity into my life; he was so comfortable in his body, walking around in thigh-high leather boots and tight underwear. He embraced himself fully and wasn’t afraid to be true to himself—visually, artistically and sexually. George taught me a lot about unapologetic queerness and light-hearted pop music with positive messages that didn’t really exist to be serious. Even after he was forced to come out to the public as gay after being seen with another man, he still kept his composure and carried on being true to himself.

As a way to visually represent the influence that they’ve had on my life, all of the images shown are self-portraits. This was significant to the creation of this work because I wanted to be able to embody the way these men must have felt. The pressure they must have felt to be perfect, how empowered they must have felt creating their art, and how it must have felt so satisfying to them to be living as the people they wanted to be. The lighting scenarios for each photograph are unique to each character—based on the musician, how the I feel that I relate to them and how I felt they should be portrayed. Inspiration for these photographs is drawn from old film photographs of these men in their early careers. Freddie, Prince, George and Kenedee is entirely shot in-studio with a medium film camera on black and white film to embrace the style of photographs that were being made in the 1970s and 80s.