Exodus

Exodus is a diaristic series of polaroids by Apolo Gomez. Part diary, part fantasy, these snapshots explore the vulnerability of masculinity, the dislocation of queerness, machismo culture, and the need for desire by photographing friends and lovers. Gomez's work emerges from a deeply personal journey, where mortality casts its shadow over every creation. Gomez's artistic path began with a lymphoma diagnosis, a turning point that sparked a profound awareness of his own mortality. In response, Gomez now in remission, embarked on a deliberate mission to document individuals and their stories, making each image an act of remembrance. While the collection primarily celebrates queerness, vulnerability, and desire, it is also an exploration of loss and the constraints that come with it. 

In the pursuit of transfiguring masculinity, Gomez employs prisms, multiple exposures, and mirrors as transformative tools. These visual elements serve as metaphors, allowing the artist to reshape and reimagine traditional notions of masculinity, ultimately blurring the lines between reality and the surreal. Grounded in the rich history of queer surrealist photography, Gomez's work becomes a testament to the diverse narratives and experiences within the LGBTQ+ community.

The intimate fragmentation of personhood in the Polaroids is akin to the multiplicity of queerness, and the societal constructs we bare. Religious and heteronormative systemic constructs made me aware of my own queerness as a child. Growing up in rural America I was never comfortable expressing myself and felt a societal cycle of desire, guilt, and ultimately shame for being queer. By accessing queer spaces and finding a family in my friends, I’ve grown to overcome these feelings. Through access to queer images of agency, and advocacy, I hope this cycle can be broken.