Openly gay artist Brandon McGill has created a photo series that explores queer love and polyamory love. The artist used body painting and human emotions as main tools.
The portraits displayed in the amazing photo series are of different unique couples: gay, straight, monogamous, polyamorous.
McGill explained what his art meant to him. “I paint to figure out what is going on in the world,” he said. “You can only be exposed to so much. It’s great to see what bonds people together.”
Not only that he interview his models, but he also painted their bodies, which created a deep intimacy and more understanding of the relationships he’s portraying. McGill wanted to go deep into these couples’ amorous life.
“I wanted to know with each couple, ‘What makes you work? What are some of the challenges? And how can I bring those out?’” he said. “I wanted to see how different people valued different things.”
So he also explored the relationship between three gay men and he tried to understand how their relationship worked. He painted them accordingly, as he said that “they have so much love that their hearts are exploding.”
“For them, polyamory was about having too much love to give,” he said. “You can’t put all your love in one person, and not one person can give you everything need in a relationship or in life. It was something beautiful to them.”
The body painting was a very important part of the artistic process.
“When you get someone down to that level (of intimacy), that comfortable, default state, you’re allowed in their world,” he said. “You see the mannerisms that make them—them. You can see it even in just how someone rests a hand on the other’s shoulder or someone asks for a drink of water.”
Enjoy the art of love in all its forms exposed in a sparkling photo series.
