We’re all keenly aware of the images that our favorite drag performers display on stage, but only a few of us have the privilege to see the private people that are behind the stage persona; many even ask where the line is between both sides. Photographic visionary Blake Morrow takes this idea and places it directly in front of his lens, showcasing these performers, directly alongside the people that have created these characters, bringing both to life as he presents his new photographic series, “Love Yourself.”
Coining the name for his series from RuPaul’s now-legendary line “if you can’t love yourself, how in the hell are you gonna love somebody else?”, Morrow, a major fan of drag shows, told The Huffington Post “I really wanted to focus on taking a drag performer and showcasing their personality, not just their stage character they’ve made up, but the person behind that character,” he said.
The series also showcases a significant, yet underrepresented part of the world of drag; a drag king, Hugh Mann Trash. The smoldering performer actually identifies as transmasculine non-binary, but performs in male drag. Turning gender on its ear was the order of the day, with Morrow showcasing the performer as an international spy of sorts.
Morrow has no plans to stop working with these performers any time soon either. He plans to continue working with Canada’s Drag Race winner Priyanka: his next project, (throughout the month of October), is called 30 Days of Pri. He also hopes to add more stunning shots to the “Love Yourself” portfolio. He told HuffPo “People who might see this, who don’t know someone who does drag or has never seen a drag show, will see that this is a fully-fledged person,” he said. “I’m also kind of hoping that it’s subliminally taking things further in terms of gender, and treating treating different people in our lives equally.”
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