Queering a Room of One's Own: Cherry Au Hon I’s collections of portraits

Cherry Au Hon I is a London-based non-binary photographer of Macanese descent. They have been working in the industry for the past five years, with a focus on fashion. After a Bachelor of Arts in fashion communication and styling at Middlesex Univerisity, they obtained a Master of Arts in fashion photography at the London College of Fashion. They worked with fashion brands on multiple campaigns like Scotria SS20, but today our focus will be on their documentary portraits series which recently got its own solo exhibition.

Cherry Au Hon I's photography is vibrant, bewitching by the stare of its subjects, and empowering by their boldness. It is a peek into queer people's intimacy and their stories of resilience. Through each of their documentary portrait series, Cherry Au Hon I takes a new angle on the LGBTQI+ community. ‘THEM’, their first series, explored the fluidity of gender through more than over 200 subjects across Asia and Europe. '不一樣的漣漪', their most recent one, explores the lives and hopes of queer people living in Macau. Each photography is coupled with an interview, giving insight into each subject’s life story.

‘PEOPLE, PLACE, TAKE UP SPACE’ is Cherry Au Hon I’s first solo exhibition. The exhibit took place last month at Bermondsey Project Space in London. It showcased some of their portrait series, along with multiple performances, talks, and film screenings from queer collectives and performers. It focuses on the portrayal of LGBTQI+ people in their environments, showing how, despite their marginalization, they manage to create a space of their own. ‘DYKE’, a portrait collection of self-identifying dykes across London, is one of the exhibited series. It explores the interpretations of this term while showcasing a diverse panel of subjects. ‘Queeroes of London’ is another, showcasing elderly members of London’s queer community. Cherry Au Hon I uses photography as a means to record and archive queer stories. They also use it as a tool to connect the community together, counteracting the isolation people experience in big cities like London.

Scroll down below to defy the stares of Cherry Au Hon I’s subjects and visit their website to discover the stories behind it!