queen
The featured theme queen was an idea triggered by the death of Queen Elizabeth II in September, not long before our first editorial meeting for this issue. We contacted a number of photographers around the world and invited them to submit a single image responding to the theme queen without any guidelines or further requirements and with no emphasis on Queen Elizabeth II.
This is what they came up with. As you see, the responses show that Queen Elizabeth II is not at the forefront of everybody’s mind at all.
clair robins (united kingdom)
Cucumber Sandwiches
Earlier this year, her majesty The Queen became the first British Monarch to celebrate a Platinum Jubilee after 70 years of service. The Queen, now sadly no longer with us, ruled for longer than any other Monarch in British history, becoming a much admired, loved, and respected figure around the world. Many people came together to celebrate the historic milestone over the Jubilee weekend in June 2022. Personally I like a bit of British pomp, pageantry, and a cucumber sandwich which perfectly symbolizes that! Cucumber Sandwiches is one of nine still lifes celebrating the Platinum Jubilee weekend.
clair robins
@clairscollection
marisol mendez (bolivia)
Our Lady of Plaster
This is an Andean Virgin, a dark Mary. She represents the rupture and continuity between native Bolivian female deities and inherited Catholic traditions. In her we perceive the collision of two worlds, that of mother earth and that of a celestial guardian. She is a symbol of the sacred and the profane, the humble and the majestic, the fertile and the ethereal.
See more by Marisol Mendez in A Visual Dialogue in issue #7 and in collab:co-op in issue #9
marisol mendez
@marisol__mendez
supranav dash (india)
Patruni in Tranimal Drag
The theme of this 'Tranimal' performance was Queen. Tranimal is in its nascent stages in India, so I took this opportunity to explore a bit. As we know, Tranimal is a post-modern interpretation/deconstruction of the traditional genres of the Drag queen.
The place where I come from is Kolkata (or Calcutta, the erstwhile capital of British Colonial India)
supranav dash
@supranavdash
hung ching yan fion (hong kong)
Miss Hong Kong is Me
My mum is the queen in my family, who I was afraid of very much. She had a higher position than anyone else in my world. During the kindergarten period, my dream was to become a mother. I thought that's the only way to have high power in my family.
hung ching yan
@fotolotof
ines villeparisis (spain)
La Pietâ Queen
This photograph is called La Pietâ Queen and it is a small tribute to the sculptural ensemble of La Pietà, by Michelangelo, but varying its theme. Instead of serenity and Renaissance idealism, I have tried to represent a more baroque, disturbing and futuristic image. And instead of representing a young, sad and pious Virgin Mary, who holds a dead Christ, I have represented a kind of glam queen from another planet, who has come to visit Planet Earth and who holds in her arms a fellow interplanetary traveler who is injured by a forced landing. In this photograph I also wanted to show the tenderness and pain at the approaching death of a loved one, but without the pathos of Michelangelo's La Pietá.
@inesvilleparisis
victor luque (spain)
Queen
I’m not a monarchist but I admire proletarian royalty, those who achieve the status of queen through their own grace, originality and magnificence.
Kewin Bo aka Bonono In his performance "2" 2018
victor luque
@don.victor.luque
thomas nondh jansen (netherlands)
The Crown of a Queen
In my photographic practise I take ordinary objects that grab my attention for their shape, color and symbols and translate them into something fantastical, wondrous and open to interpretation.
thomas nondh jansen
@thomasnondh
nazli abbaspour (iran)
Keep Calm, I am Queen
In recent years the expression Keep Calm, I am Queen has been seen printed on clothes and other items, which we can interpret in different ways.
In Iran, the trend became widespread at the same time as the tendency for people to have cosmetic surgery, changing their appearance with the focus on the face. Keep Calm, I am Queen is one of the expressions indicating the preference for ‘exaggerated decision making’ regarding appearance, behavior, style and lifestyle.
I have tried to study and see the appearance and faces of Iranian women in the past, without exaggeration or overstatement. Those in the past who were true to their appearances, behavior and identity without overemphasis.
nazli abbaspour
@nazli.abbaspour
charlie cluff (uk)
Queen
With the recent passing of Her Majesty, I wanted to draw on my own British roots and photograph myself as the Queen of England. The Queen died at the age of 96 and spent the last 70 years on the throne. Ninety percent of people alive today have never known another British monarch or a time when another head was on our currency. In the coming year, our coins, notes and stamps will all change over from Queen Elizabeth II to King Charles III. It will be sad to watch as the longest reigning monarch fades from everyday life. The Queen and the Royal Family are such a major part of British culture and a part of who we are, and I therefore wanted to use this self portrait as queen to emphasize this as well as pays tribute to our late Majesty.
