Hip-hop photgraphy with Aubrey Edwards

Aubrey Edwards has gained a reputation for compellingly personal portraits that document the culture behind an eccentric musical genre known as ‘bounce’. However, the photographer’s portfolio stretches further than her images of this hypersexual, gay-friendly form of New Orleans hip hop. Her diverse client base includes Spin and Playboy magazines, the United Nations, Magnolia Pictures, along with a long list of couples looking for eccentric wedding shots.

So what is it about our city’s gay communities that spark Edwards’ interest? As the shutterbug arrives in town this month to assume the mantle of Objectifs’ artist-in-residence, she takes time to talk us through the Singapore-based project.

How did your interest in capturing the queer communities within the bounce music culture start?
New Orleans has always been a second home; my family lived there before Hurricane Katrina. After the storm, I photographed the rebuilding process for three years. Being a music photographer by trade, it was only natural that I began shooting the music scene there.

I discovered bounce five years ago. Compared to other regions it has different signature beats, different forms of dance, and a large transgendered and gay population of performers that echo decades of New Orleans’ performance history. I’ve worked within transgendered and gay communities for years. Some of my closest friends are gay, male-tofemale, female-to-male, performing drag queens and Stonewall veterans. One of the last great civil-rights battles in my country involves equal rights for the gay and trans communities. By documenting the personal stories of my subjects, I hope to bring an understanding of this subculture’s struggles, strife and beauty to larger audiences.

Do you see your photography as a sort of activism?
I think any form of empowerment could be interpreted as activism. Everyone has an important story to tell. When you give people the space and the interest to share their stories, it’s empowering. We all have similarities in addition to our differences; it’s very powerful when we recognise these similarities.

So true. Is there a particular process you go through to start getting your subjects comfortable in front of the camera?
I started taking portraits when I was eight years old. When I take a portrait of someone, it is an exchange between us that I cherish. I make sure I put in the time, energy and appreciation to make it pleasurable and benefi cial for my subject, and for me. In this profession, you have to be very personable and have the ability to put people at ease. I can read people very well, and know what they need to feel comfortable. I’m thankful to be blessed with that gift.

So what led you to Singapore?
From an outsider’s perspective, Singapore has a seemingly lengthy history of acceptance, tolerance and celebration of its gay and transgendered community; from Bugis Street’s colourful history and international appeal, to the 1996 bill legalising transgendered marriage. I’m hoping to learn more about the development of this particular subculture in Singapore, its relationship to the larger community, and share it with an international audience through portraits and collected oral histories.

Wow, this is probably the first time I’ve heard words like ‘acceptance’ and ‘tolerance’ being used with regard to anything gay-related in Singapore.
I really should have stressed the word ‘seemingly’. The world still has a long way to go with its LGBT civil-rights struggles. But from my perspective, Singapore seems to be more open and accepting than many other countries I’ve visited. However, I understand that this is only the surface I see. Ideally, through this project, outsiders will be able to gain a deeper understanding of what lies beneath the surface of what we see from afar.

Aubrey Edwards will be giving a talk at Objectifs on 7 Apr; see here. Go to www.aubreyedwards.com for further samples of her work, or www.wheretheyatnola.com for her collaboration with music journalist Alison Fensterstock.