Holding Court

I shot the first image of this series on March 14, 2020, just as things were beginning to shut down in Houston. The last photograph was made on March 13, 2021, after completing the 365th image. I used making these images as a way to keep sane during the pandemic and quarantine. During the first many months of the stay at home order, I thrived. This project was a huge part of that. It was important to have a thing to do each day. The process of putting on the make up, the wigs, the outfits (or, in many cases, uncut piece of fabric), shooting, editing and showering was the perfect daily ritual. 

The series is heavily inspired by the art of drag and many individual drag artists. I love drag because, at its heart, it’s about confidence, power, agency and escapism. It is about being unapologetic and taking up space. And it gives one the ability to be someone else. My images explore identity, power, and the creation of characters. 

As I worked on this series, I thought a lot about queer culture and the gay men and trans woman who pioneered this art form and whether it is ok for me to be making this work. I still don’t know if the answer is entirely yes, but I hope people view it as the love letter to drag and queerness that I intend it to be. 

Some drag queens say that drag saved their lives. Writing this a little over a month after ending the series, I relate. I’m sure I don’t mean it in the same way as they do, but without the daily ritual of this project, I would have fared much worse during the pandemic. 

But mostly it was just fun… Because drag is meant to be fierce and fun.