Background

In the quest to affirm ourselves and find love, many QTBPIPoC folks improvise and create community from scratch. Enter the chosen family. It can be a fluid networks of connections and intimacies that defy the boundaries of the nuclear family, and lead us to ask, "Are we roommates, colleagues, collaborators, lovers, best friends, frenemies, or all of the above?"

On the other hand, we find ourselves opting out of the rituals that come with hetero-normartive family structures, like the family portrait.

From early childhood to my late teens, I remember coordinating outfits with my siblings, piling into the car, and heading to the local Sears or Walmart for an annual family portrait.
Some weeks later, my family would receive the prints in the mail, which my mother would frame and mount on the wall, and it would become the new reigning representation of who we were as a family unit, to be admired and commented on until the next one.

This photo series is a process-based and lighthearted take on the traditional family portrait. It tries not to reproduce the ritual of the family portrait, but rather, play with the convention, and explore the possibilities and limits of what the family portrait can tell us about chosen family structures.

Call for Participation

I’d like to take a portrait of you and your chosen family. During the session, we may discuss how family portraiture may be experienced (or improved on) by QTBIPoC communities and what our chosen family structures do or don't do and what anticapitalist, life-giving, life-saving, and-or decolonial bonds could look like.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who qualifies as ‘chosen family’?

 That’s a good question! I’m not sure I’ve figured that out yet. I recognize that this is fluid and that you should feel free to define that for yourself.

What if I’m already tight with my ‘biological’ family?

That’s alright too. It’s never either-or, is it?

Can my straight fam come?

Family is family.

What shall we wear?
If you can, please come in matching or colour-coordinated outfits. Perhaps bring a meaningful object. Pets are welcomed too!

Will I get a copy of my photos?
I will send you both digital and print copies of the photo.

Will you share my photos?
I do not share photos without your implicit or explicit consent.

What if I don’t want to participate in this project 6 months, 1 year, or 10 years down the line?
That’s okay too. Feel free to communicate that and I will honour your request (if I'm still alive, lol).