Pride Month: Max Mauro
Needle Play © Max Mauro
Written by Jan Alex
The pandemic has challenged how we live our lives, especially how we live with one another. Every community and every family has been impacted by the ensuing plague of social isolation, forcing us to consider the importance and fragility of our human connections. In his currently ongoing project Until the Night Comes, NYC-based photographer Max Mauro explores the queer experience throughout the pandemic with a focus on the drag community and the ways the pandemic has restricted resources for queer community and connection.
As both a drag performer and photographer, capturing the experience of his community comes naturally to Mauro. His photographs present an intimate window into the often unseen lives of drag performers and other queer creatives.
Lady Fae © Max Mauro
Composed primarily of large-format color portraits, Until the Night Comes is both revealing and deeply empathetic. The much-needed documentation of the drag community throughout this moment of strained human connections feels timely and critical, yet also remains personal and authentic, revealing a photographer committed to both his craft and his community.
“Family has always been a really big part of my work—not necessarily a traditional nuclear family but more of a queer, Paris Is Burning–style chosen family,” said the artist during a 2019 interview. Mauro’s focus on the non-nuclear family he has found in the drag community is evident in all of his work, but in Until the Night Comes, his ability to show the “behind-the-scenes” moments from an intimate and authentic perspective shines brightly.
Patsy Painting © Max Mauro
Sterling & Paris © Max Mauro
In images such as Patsy Painting, Sterling & Paris, and Sterling Head, Mauro explores the in-between moments of the drag queen experience, the process of transformation that performers undergo, and the challenges of a moment in which that outlet for self-expression and connection with others is taken away. In Sterling & Paris, two drag queens strike a theatrical pose while half-dressed as if to signify that the drag experience is incomplete without a performance to prepare for. In the up-close and personal Sterling, the subject's Joker-esque pose and smeared makeup are reminders of the laborious process of transforming oneself and the effort these individuals put into the glamorous finished product that is a drag show. In Heaven and Their Bear, Mauro articulates the emotions of social isolation in a universal language, drawing our eyes to the heart shaped light at the top of the frame, its faint glow barely standing out in a portrait dominated by an unmistakable and understandable shade of blue. The subject’s pose and the empathetic lighting tell a story anyone can understand, isolation and the loss of social connection is heavy on the heart.
Sterling Head © Max Mauro
Heaven and Their Bear © Max Mauro
While the project is still ongoing, Until the Night Comes already offers a unique and authentic window into the pandemic experience of an often overlooked and misunderstood community. The images are both documentary and celebration, and feel both poignant and deeply empathetic. As Mauro continues to expand on the project, it will be exciting to see how the photographer will continue to explore the nuances of the queer experience and lift the veil on the personal lives and stories of the drag community.
To see more of Max’s work, visit his website
