Fierce have invited artists Sunil Gupta and Charan Singh to create a new body of photographic work with LGBTQ+ refugees and asylum seekers in the West Midlands. The British Empire exported homophobia across the world and many Commonwealth countries retain these prejudiced penal codes to this day. In India, Section 377, introduced by the British in 1860 criminalised homosexuality. Gupta’s series The New Pre-Raphaelites produced in response to this law, was the inspiration for this invitation.
When seeking asylum in the UK to escape this persecution, documentation or ‘proof’ of sexuality is required. How can someone prove an intrinsic part of their being? And what do alternative expressions of gender and sexuality look like outside of the Western context? This series allows the participants to tell their own stories and choose how they want to be seen.
Website: wearefierce.org
