anderson zaca
01f /24fps
I was first exposed to drag queens in my extravagant hometown São Paulo, where the nightlife is complex and abundant. Since 2003 I have been documenting drag queens and gay pride parades in Brazil and New York City, where I currently reside.
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Invasion, 2007
Invasion in Black and White, goes beyond a style of photography to reveal the color taken away by the black and white contrast. Black and White here is not only a vision, or a style. It captures the ambiguity of drag queen.
Invasion in Black and White documents the Fire Island Invasion, an American queer celebration of difference and freedom that takes place every year on the 4th of July. I enjoy photographing the Invasion because of the challenge that is to capture the true emotions. At the Invasion, the queens talk, walk and interact like nowhere else because they are at home.
The Invasion is a parallel reality, where visually everyone is whoever they want to be, while being themselves. I want these portraits to evoke emotions. I chose to photograph in 6x6 black and white film in order to extract the colors of the celebration and transform them into feelings.
My approach to drag portraiture is also as documenter. I use the supple power of my camera to capture the magic of drag queen transformation. To me, drag and photography are both forms of expression. I use the camera to capture not only what drag queens put on the outside but their inside as well. In shooting drag queens, I try to stay “invisible” while photographing them, up close, yet still not interrupting the moment. I allow complex feelings and multiple conversations to go on within and beyond the photographic frame.
© Anderson Zaca