"Wildelife"
by Ben Zuhlcke (1 Nov-16 dec 2005)
Oscar Wilde’s Dilemma was being talked about too much and it eventually led to his imprisonment and death. What benefits will people living in a city of culture like Liverpool win by owning up to their very own way of loving? The diverse faces and backgrounds of the people who agreed to have their picture taken for this project make a mockery of the attempts to label and stereotype human beings. Each portrait wants to tell you: I am me and I am not afraid.
Review by icLiverpool-Wildelife
A GRANDMOTHER-OF-THREE and a young professional are among the people featured in a photographic exhibition which aims to reflect the real lives of Merseyside's gay community.
German artist Ben Zuhlcke, who has lived in Liverpool for the past seven years, was invited to create a montage of images to be showcased as part of the city's Homotopia festival.
The result is a series of striking portraits, showing each subject in both a private and a public setting, that demonstrate the similarities between everyone no matter what their sexuality.
Ben explains: "It is about giving the gay people more visibility in Liverpool. People are often stereotyped and are often not confident enough to admit to their sexual
orientation. I wanted to demystify people's impressions of what a gay person looks like."
The photographer let his subjects decide how they were to be photographed, resulting in a more personal collection of images.
"I left it up to them how subtle wanted it to be. The public image could be people at work and the private image at home with their families," he adds.
Ben hopes that his exhibition will show young people who are struggling with their sexuality that they can be themselves and do not have to conform to the public's, or even the gay community's, idea of what constitutes homosexuality.
"I wanted the people in the exhibition to be inspirational to young people. I wanted to show that if you choose a certain
lifestyle you don't have to be trapped by it," says Ben.
"It is common for gay people to meet up in bars and clubs but this isn't the whole picture. I thought that, by showing people in two different settings, it would show how three-dimensional they are."
* WILDELIFE, by Ben Zuhlcke, is showing at Patrick's Bar, on Victoria Street, Liverpool, throughout the Homotopia festival.
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