Inside Quil Lemons’ Personal Photo Exhibition ‘Quiladelphia’ in New York – WWD

Quil Lemons admits that some of the subjects in “Quiladelphia,” his new photography series, are depicted in unflattering poses. But who can say which ones?

“I think it was a really fun theme to tackle: what’s unflattering to you might be desirable to someone else,” says Lemons, whose first solo show in New York is on view at the Hannah Traoré gallery.

The highly intimate and vulnerable works on display in “Quiladelphia” expand on the young photographer’s groundbreaking first series “Glitter Boy,” which featured black men painted with glitter. Several years later, he became the youngest photographer to shoot a cover for Vanity Fair; he was 23 when he photographed Billie Eilish for the publication. Since then, Lemons’ work has been commissioned by brands including Savage x Fenty, Calvin Klein, Moncler and Gucci.

Her new creative series, which explores desire, includes nude portraits. “What I noticed while exploring different museums is that there are so many white bodies that can be naked and placed on the walls of galleries, museums, and I wanted to kind of shake that up a little bit.” , he said.

“When you say these things – black queer photographer – there are a lot of limits that society places on what that should look like in terms of respectability, and also in terms of what I should do with my career now,” adds Lemons. , who was born and raised in Philadelphia and is now based in New York. “What’s it like to be a queer black photographer photographing black bodies?”

Lemons notes that although he photographed high-profile subjects in his editorial and commercial work, he wanted to counter “the expectation of who could be photographed by me,” he says. “I wanted to democratize my guardian, but also the idea of ​​knowing who deserved to be shot by me.”

He describes all of the subjects on “Quiladelphia” as friends — some are professional models, others are from OnlyFans — but they are “all boys,” Lemons says. “Some people are trans, some are older, some are younger. I really wanted to show a broad spectrum of what masculinity is? And what does that look like from a queer perspective? »

With “masculinity” as an ongoing thesis of his creative work, Lemons describes “Quiladelphia” as an exploration of the black male body that also speaks to the universality of desire. Many of the subjects in his photographs are depicted in various states of sexual engagement and expression, and while the exhibition is provocative, Lemons hopes the images will provoke conversation.

“I wanted my viewers to be able to let go of their egos, and then question their own morality. I hope you will let go of your judgment. Some people may not be able to understand the subject, but I think that’s the whole point,” he continues. “I wanted to introduce ideas of desirability; I also wanted to think about this from the perspective of where my personal policies don’t really align with desire. And I think it’s the same for everyone… your attraction might not match who you are on a daily basis,” he adds. “I think it’ll be a really fun conversation to have because I think immediately people are going to think it’s just about the black body, and that’s not the case,” he says. “My own sexuality is not limited to race. I don’t think that’s the case for anyone; we are all human.

Lemons aims to center “Quiladelphia” in queer joy and fun, and hopes that the humanity of his images shines through for the viewer.

“There are so many things we can expand on, and the one I really wanted to tap into with the series is the human experience of life,” he says. “I’m trying to give black queer boys more space to just exist,” he adds. “Provide space for the free expression of individuality; That’s the point.

But rather than explaining what is hidden in his photographs, Lemons wants viewers to see for themselves and draw their own connections and conclusions.

“[The images] I’ll tell you what they are,” he said. “I don’t really need to explain too much when looking at this work. I think that says a lot.

The exhibition is on view until November 4.