A new exhibition has opened at Qtopia exploring photographs of men in love.
LOVING is a photographic history of men in love, spanning from the 1850s to the 1950s.
Qtopia, the largest centre for queer history and culture in the world, has brought LOVING down under in collaboration with the EU Delegation to Australia.
The exhibition draws from the private collection of over 4,000 images of men in love, curated by Hugh Nini and Neal Treadwell.
The idea started when Nini and Treadwell discovered an old photograph of two men in love at an antique store in Dallas, Texas, 25 years ago.
The single image sparked a global journey, taking them to flea markets, auction houses, family albums and even online collections to assemble the intimate portraits.
“Our goal in publishing our collection was to spread the message these photos contain — loving,” the pair told Gay Sydney Daily.
“Being exhibited at Qtopia, is an extension of this goal, or dream, that we hadn’t even contemplated. Having a dedicated space to present these beautiful images of loving male couples, to a public that can now stand close to them and almost touch them, is something beyond what we’d envisioned.”
The pair produced a book in 2020, LOVING: A Photographic History of Men in Love, to bring these images into the mainstream and show the “enduring courage of intimacy.”
This was followed by a second book, which currently holds one of their favourite photos.
“We have a few favorite images, but for now let’s go with the image on the cover of our second book: LOVING: More Photographic History of Men in Love,” they said.
“This photo, taken around 125 years ago, is of a young couple holding a sign together that reads: Not Married But Willing To Be.”
Apparently, that sort of sign was a standard prop found in studios at the time, usually for single men to advertise themselves — but not in this instance.
“This young couple each held one side each of the sign to signify their devotion to one another, and to dare to dream of a day when they might be married to one another,” they said.
“This is one of five photos they took at this sitting. The other four leave no doubt that their devotion is towards one another, and their marriage dreams, are for each other. Theirs is a pure expression of equality and freedom.”
LOVING: The Exhibition is currently on exhibit at Qtopia.
