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“The power and intensity of Asafe’s work are recognizable from the first instance of setting eyes on his images. The activism that underpins it makes for an even more impactful aesthetic.” —Izabela Radwanska Zhang, editorial director of British Journal of Photography
For many queer people, exile begins at home. The search for safety and freedom to express themselves drives millions of LGBTQIA+ people across borders. Their stories are full of contrasts—between isolation and community, freedom and nostalgia.
In their stunning compositions, photographer Asafe Ghalib explores the identities of members of the LGBTQIA+ immigrant community in Britain with striking beauty and poise. Brought up in a religious family, Ghalib draws from their own experience of leaving Brazil behind to depict the rich lives of their subjects who live at the intersections of multiple cultures. Their work, which evokes black-and-white newspaper photographs and classic portraiture that has been present since the dawn of photography, immortalizes the lives of a community that has been misrepresented for decades.
The latest in a groundbreaking series of photobooks that highlight queer lives and communities around the world, Shine invites the viewer to enter the world of Britain’s many queer communities and, in doing so, to challenge common misconceptions and prejudices about LGBTQIA+ people. An act of both confrontation and pride, this book is also an exploration of immigration as a human right and, above all, a celebration of the triumphs of a defiant community.
Shine was designed by Emerson, Wajdowicz Studios (EWS).
Asafe Ghalib (they/them) is an artist from Brazil and has been based in London since 2013. They work primarily with the medium of photography in collaboration with the LGBTQIA+ community. Their work has appeared in The Guardian, Vogue Australia, Dazed, Perfect Magazine, Gay Times, and a range of other venues.