Category Is... African Kween Realness

Continuing with the inspiration from the series Pose, 

I wanted to do an African Queen inspired look. Perhaps a

bit basic but I'll take it as a learning curve for now. 

Pride (Won't Back Down)

Ya'll didn't think there'd be a follow up, did ya? Well surprise!

I had been listening to P!nk's 'What About Us' and at first thought

I'd do a shoot inspired by the music video, but I didn't have all those

elements available, so I went with the message it wanted to convey, 

and how that translate into the LGBT+ struggles we face today. 

The second verse and bridge in particular spoke to me and what

I had to go through growing an overweight, effeminate gay kid. And

I still tear up now and then when I really sit down and listen the song, 

because it's not something that goes away, it's not something that we pack

away under the bed when we'd had enough of it. Our scars, we walk around

with it everyday, and everyday is a consequence of those scars. 

"We are problems that want to be solved

We are children that need to be loved

We were willin', we came when you called

But, man, you fooled us, enough is enough.

Sticks and stones, they may break these bones
But then I'll be ready, are you ready?
It's the start of us, waking up, come on
Are you ready? I'll be ready
I don't want control, I want to let go
Are you ready? I'll be ready
'Cause now it's time to let them know
We are ready, what about us?"

And because of that, this photoshoot is dedicated to every single kid out there

who got called horrible names, bullied and got broken down, this is for you kid, 

cos we refuse to back down.

WILD

This was a pretty emotional shoot for me to do. Was

going through a rough patch and finally got to listen

to Troye Sivan's album Blue Neighbourhood. This made

every emotion I felt exemplified and I needed it out. 

I struggled with this shoot, because may of the shots were so

hard to take due to the amount of emotion showing that I couldn't

include them...

Troye's single Wild plays a huge role in the shoot, along with

Youth..

Too long till I drown in your handsToo long since I've been a fool Never knew loving could hurt this good, ohAnd it drives me wildBend and break But I can't turn awayYou're driving me wild You make my heart shake

&

We're speeding through red lights into paradise

'Cause we've no time for getting old

Mortal bodies, timeless souls

Cross your fingers, here we go... 

Ponderings of A Gay-sha; Memoirs Of A Gay-sha Part III

My Chinese culture has been playing a huge part in my

studies as a fashion design student and so this shoot was

my visual manifestation of the impact. 

I give you Ponderings of A Gay-sha...

Army

Was immensely inspired by Ellie Goulding's new single

Army, both for the lyrics and its simplistic yet oh so effective

video.

I can always do with some lifting up, and this song did the

trick. The refrain 'when I'm with you, I'm standing with 

an army', spoke to me in a million languages

and I used that as my main inspiration for the shoot. 

These Are The Special Times

"In these moments, moments of our lives

All the world is ours and this world is so right

You and I sharing this time together

Sharing the same dream as time goes by, we will find
These are the special times, times we'll remember
These are the precious times
The tender times, we'll hold in our hearts forever
These are the sweetest times, these times together
And through it all one thing will always be true
The special times are the times I share with you"

With Christmas around the corner, I wanted to do a shoot that

reflects not only the spirit of Christmas but also portray a softer

and more mature side of myself, perhaps even more vulnerable in

a sense.