ASTRAL SODOMY

violet

Nicole Paige Brooks kills Violet Chachki, 2013

No Amount of Censorship Can Stop Atlanta’s Drag Queens from Looking Fabulous 

Last month, we spoke to some of the people behind Atlanta’s Legendary Children photo exhibition, which centers around pictures of the city’s drag scene. Since the show opened, the organizer have run into some issues, mostly based around cum, cock, and censorship. Matthew Terrell is one of those organizer, so we asked him to provide us with an account of what’s been going on.

Violet Chachki photographed by Blake England, one of the photos that has had to be censored.

Putting together Legendary Children was a laborious, but glamorous, operation. The exhibition of photos based around the Atlanta drag scene features work by myself, Jon Dean, Kevin O, Blane Bussey, and Blake England, with ten other queens rounding out our queer coterie.

Atlanta’s Gallery 1526 currently houses our exhibit, and Melanie Bell—the space’s beautiful, pregnant, bisexual mother-gallerist—has been one of our strongest supporters since day one. “It was time for the drag scene to receive a fine art setting, and once you see the photographers’ work, you’ll agree” she told me. “This show was personally exciting for me,” she continued. “Being bisexual and in love with the dynamic creativity that drag brings, it made perfect sense. Art? Gorgeous men who look like gorgeous women? Yes, please and thank you.”