On the 5th of October we welcomed Ghislain Pascal, editor and curator of BOYS! BOYS! BOYS! books and magazines, to UNITOM for a chat with Graeme Smith (host and producer of Outcast UK) about queer fine art photography, running a print magazine, and what its like to try and flog male nudes to an uptight and unimaginative art market. Ghislain joined us at UNITOM for the Manchester leg of what has become a world tour to promote the new BOYS! BOYS! BOYS! book; a beautiful hardcover publication showcasing the very best of the programme’s talented photographers.
BOYS! BOYS! BOYS! is a programme by The Little Black Gallery to promote queer and gay fine art photography. It now represents more than 65 photographers from 30 countries. Ghislain spoke about nurturing a global network of queer artists in the face institutional homophobia within the art establishment, his love of photography’s ability to push the bounds of play and humour, and the importance of giving back to the community and supporting LGBTQ+ charities.
Flicking through the latest issue of the magazine, Ghislain and Graeme talked about what makes an excellent photograph, Wedgies by Benjamin Fredrickson, the shadow-banning of queer content, taking pictures in dangerous places, and what’s next for the publication (keep your eyes peeled for a zine!). The interview was recorded for Outcast UK (winner of Best New Podcast at the British Podcast Awards) and will be available to listen to for free in the near future.
A huge thank you to Graeme for his thoughtful questions, to Ghislain for sharing his answers, and of course to everyone who came along to listen. The latest BOYS! BOYS! BOYS! book and copies of the magazine are available to buy in store and online.
"We just keep getting bigger and bigger! I don't mean in size (we're not size queens!) - just that we are printing more and more copies with every issue - so thank you!" - Ghislain Pascal
