MYLES LOFTIN, USING COLOUR TO POSITIVELY REPRESENT QUEER YOUTH
Colour, vibrancy, freedom and a whole lot of fun. These are the weapons of choice of 21-year-old Myles Loftin’s images, used to counteract the usual darkness and gloom that are associated with the history of queer people of colour. In fact, we could even say that bringing a human touch and shedding a positive light on people belonging to these communities is Myles’ personal mission with his work. This has led him to photograph some of the most influential young people belonging to the New York art scene, with whom he has grown up with, being featured in publications like Paper Magazine, i-D or Gayletter, as well as getting to shoot a campaign for the streetwear giant GCDS. We talk to him about how he has managed to achieve all of these feats, whilst only being a senior in college.
When did your love of photography start? What made you first pick up a camera and why did you decide to embark in this career?
My interest in photography started in middle school, I was already really interested in the arts and at the time thought I wanted to be an illustrator. My cousin KJ (a non-binary photographer based in Washington DC) introduced me to Tumblr, and that sparked my interest in fashion photography. I remember being really drawn to the way that the images I saw were able to transport me to a different space or create a certain feeling. I wanted to invoke that same sort of feeling in other people. After that, I started doing small shoots with my cousin and taking self-portraits at home with my sisters’ iPod Touch. The moment that really solidified my love for photography was when my family took a trip to Italy in the summer of 2012. We borrowed my uncle’s DSLR, and I kind of took it from my dad and decided I would document our trip. After that, I knew I wanted this to be my career. My parents bought me my first camera after that trip and I pretty much hit the ground running. Their support was a huge factor in me being so passionate about what I do.
Would you be able to define your style in a few words?
Vibrant, free and intimate.
You have photographed much of the most influential queer youth coming from the artistic scene in New York City, photographers, models, actors etc. from the likes of Chella Man, MaryV Benoit and Aaron Philip. How did you first meet them?
I met Chella and MaryV during our freshman year at Parsons School of Design. Chella reached out to me for a photoshoot and then shortly after he introduced me to MaryV and we’ve been friends since. Aaron and I met through Instagram, we started following each other when I was in high school and finally met in real life when I moved to New York for college. It’s so amazing to witness their growth, I’m really proud of all of them.
I’m assuming that as you’re barely in your twenties and you’ve been successfully working as a photographer for a few years now, that you’ve basically grown up with all of these remarkable young people, at the same time that they’re building their careers. How does that make you feel?
Yeah, I’m 21 years old… It’s kind of overwhelming to think about the fact that I’m so young and I still don’t know a lot about the world or the industry and there’s so much happening for me and my peers. I’m definitely appreciative of all the opportunities that have come my way, and I appreciate that the people who I started with still serve as a strong support system.
Knowing all of this, in which other ways would you say you’ve been influenced or inspired by the city of New York, ever since you moved there a couple of years ago? How has this shaped you? And what have you taken from the experience of living in London for a few months?
Living in New York City and being surrounded by people from so many different walks of life has definitely been nothing short of inspirational. I’ve become much more confident in who I am, and it’s made me a much harder worker. Everyone that moves here has a goal and is working towards it every day. It feels a bit competitive sometimes but it's mostly motivating.
When I moved to London for a semester I learned that it’s okay to take breaks. I was there for six months and for a lot of that time I wasn’t making work. I was just experiencing the city and trying to figure out myself and also really figure out what I want my work to say and do and look like.
You have an ongoing series that sort of copies the style of old-school barbershop pictures, where you photograph people with colourful hair. What was the inspiration behind this?
I started the COLORED series in 2018 after I dyed my hair orange. At the time, I noticed a lot of the young black people around me (my friends, peers, celebrities, etc.) wearing colored hair as well. I saw people like Frank Ocean with green hair or the Clermont Twins with their multicolored wigs. This series came from my desire to highlight this trend, and celebrate black hair. I think oftentimes black people are told what we can or can’t do. That we can’t wear out our natural hair or we can’t dye our hair different colors. When you go to the beauty supply store, most of the models on dye bottles are white. These photos of black people with colored hair show how beautiful we are and how versatile our hair is.
One of your main goals is to positively represent queer people of colour through your work, as we all know that the media, historically speaking, has done quite the opposite. Would you say that one of the ways you are literally doing this is by bringing so much colour and saturation to your photographs?
I think that my decision to include so much color and vibrancy in my photos of people of color is because so much of our visual history is wrapped in darkness and despair. I want my work to represent the total opposite of that.
I believe that you've stated in previous interviews that you gladly take on the responsibility of doing all of this, as a black queer man. However, the fact that this is what is usually expected from other queer artists of colour can get kind of tiring, right?
Yeah, I definitely think it is tiring when artists of any minority are expected to represent their entire community in the art that they make. If I want to make work about something other than social justice, or other than representation I’m allowed to do that.
How was working with a brand as cool as GCDS? Did you shoot their advertising campaign or what was it exactly? Could you let us know how you met them?
I shot the Fall digital campaign for GCDS. Their PR reached out to me through email and said that their creative director Giuliano Calza was a fan of my work and was interested in having me shoot for them. Working with them was really great because they gave me full creative control of the project. I was in charge of casting, creative direction, and production for the shoot. I got to work with a really great team of creatives, and the cast were all friends so it was a fun shoot.
What do you want people to take from your work?
I want people to appreciate the humanity of everyone that I photograph. I want my work to make people consider how images play a part in changing perception.
What can we expect from you in the next year or so? Let us know about your upcoming projects!
Right now I’m actually working on a few things. It’s my senior year so I’m in the process of shooting my thesis which will be completed May 2020, it will focus on using photography as a means to create a visual archive of the black queer community. I’m also editing a book of 35mm photos of my life from 2016 to the present, and I’m working on a really exciting film/photo project with my boyfriend about male body image.
