Book Review: Undertow
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A collection of work brought together by LGBTQ advocate and photographer Pacifio Silano, Undertow depicts the beauty and love in queer culture through its photographs from nine distinct artists. The book reflects on queer culture’s depiction in the media as well as how artists can preserve the history of queer culture though art. Each contributing artist brings their own perspective, taking on queer culture and forcing audiences to see it in a new and beautiful way.
The book tackles the difficult issue: how to celebrate and honor queer culture in a way that has not been done before. The choice to communicate solely through photography reflects on the intention of Silano; photography is used to capture the “real,” to record history in the making. Photographer Sam Stoich chose to spotlight the HIV crisis amongst the queer community in his photos. Other photographs featured significant events in queer history, including the shooting at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando.
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Each photograph captures their queer subject as they truly are, up close and personal: many of the subjects are in motion rather than posed. It is crucial, especially in the queer community, that they be depicted this way because it is important that they be recognized as normal people.
Undertow also features a poetic essay written by author Emily Colucci.“For queer people whose experiences aren’t always found in dusty historical archives,” Colucci writes, “the impetus is on artists and others to create their own alternative modes of preservation.” This book not only serves as a piece of art, but as a crucial role in sharing queer history.
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When I began reading Undertow, I was struck by the title; an undertow is something hidden, something that follows a different path than the rest. The more I read, the more I began to realize how much it made sense: queer people are often treated like they don’t exist, like they are different from everyone else. However, the desires of queer people are the same as those of heterosexual people. These photographs attempt to show this fact. I believe this book defies its title, bringing queer people to surface.
You can purchase Undertow here
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