Jenna Houston

All that Glitters

Mainstream media often portrays queerness as one-sided, and All that Glitters looks at subverting this streamlined representation. The more queer people depicting other queer people, the more the community’s representation can begin to unfold as a multifaceted reality. The images have focused on documenting Pittsburgh’s LGBTQIA+ community in their homes, away from outside projection and conscious performance, while also addressing the lack of a gay neighborhood in our city. Images reveal pieces integral to queer identity, involving hair, collected objects, and homeplace. The photographs create queer space when physically installed as well as intimate emotional space when displayed digitally or in multiples. The work is a collaboration with each subject and is shot with medium-format color film to give the LGBTQIA+ community the materials and time they deserve and are rarely afforded.