Meet Honest Henry, The Non-Binary Photographer Capturing Miami’s Drag Scene
Interview with Honest Henry by Co-Editor Riley R. Leight
Striking, saturated, and full of night-life energy, Honest Henry’s photos are a vivid glimpse into Miami’s drag scene. A non-binary photographer, Honest Henry has been developing a a stunning portfolio featuring everything from legendary queens like Creme Fatale and Miss Toto to incredible local performers on their weekend grind. We got the chance to talk to Honest Henry about their process, the role of gender in their work, and what’s in store for Miami’s queer community.
Q: Can you describe the drag scene and queer community in Miami?
A: The queer community in Miami is built around people who just want to escape the normativity of the outside world. This community has started their own nights, created more safe spaces, and attracted a lot of like-minded people to come together and celebrate being queer. The drag scene isn’t the typical AMAB people getting into “women’s” clothing and lip-syncing to a top-40 song. The drag scene in Miami is very conceptual and based on performance art. It ranges from sickening, dancing queens, to drag kings pouring their heart and soul out on the stage.
Q: What’s your relationship to drag? Why did you choose it as the subject of your photography, and how did you get started?
A: I got into drag when my friend Jupiter Velvet [photographed in the blue coat, page xx] started performing at this party called Counter Corner. I always imagined drag to be what’s depicted in the media — loud gay men lip-syncing and being funny — but when I went to Counter Corner, I discovered this collective of performers that weren’t the usual crowd-pleasers, but everyone was still so captivated by what they brought to the stage. So drag for me has turned into this art form that I always look forward to watching, performance-wise and appearance-wise. ’Cause not everyone who does drag performs, some are just there to show off their looks. When I realized no one was recording these people coming out in these amazing outfits or just giving a spotlight to anyone that would come to these parties, I grabbed my camera and began snapping. It’s so important to photograph these moments because this is a precious time that needs to be archived and shown to future generations. Drag, to me, is always different. Not one drag individual repeats the same outfit or the same makeup. There’s something about the illusion they are showcasing that attracts my lens to them.
Q: What’s your relationship like with the performers you photograph? Do you approach them for photos, do they approach you, or both?
A: At first, I was a shy person so I wouldn’t even ask to photograph someone. I started by getting these candid moments of people. Eventually the performers would approach me and ask me if I was the mysterious photographer capturing these moments. I would meet people and build an artistic relationship with everyone. Every photograph for me is a collaboration between me and the subject. Nowadays, if people see me out with my camera they tend to pull me aside or seek me out to get a picture of them before the night progresses. But now I’m not so shy to approach someone who I find captivating and who I need for my portfolio. I think I’ve built enough trust with people in my community to photograph them because they know I have their best interests at heart. I want to always make sure each of my photos will showcase the person in their ultimate form.
Q: Do you have any dream kings or queens you’d like to photograph?
A: I definitely want to organize an editorial shoot outside of events with my favorite drag queen, Patti Spliff. Laila McQueen is also someone I’ve been dying to photograph. I would love to go up to the Chicago scene and photograph favorites like Kat Sass, Lucy Stoole, Lucky Stiff, etc. But my number one person that I would give anything to photograph and meet would be Sussi.
Q: Clubs aren’t generally an ideal environment for lighting or appealing photos, but you make it work. On a technical level, how have you had to approach the environments you work in? What about the club setting excites you or inspires your work?
A: An external lighting source for my camera has been my savior. The flash that comes with a camera can only do so much, you have no control of the intensity and there’s no sense of distance. I’ve experimented with a lot of different external lighting but right now my favorite is this thing my friend Miss Toto [photographed onpage xx] has branded as “the brick.” It’s this LED video light that has been my best companion. I can control the intensity of the light and not worry about it syncing to my camera ’cause it’s a continuous light source. Photographing in a club setting brings the photo to life. It shows my subjects in their environment and it adds a grittiness to this moment of time. My favorite moments are when I photograph my subjects but in the background of photos you see everyone staring as the photo is being taken. That makes me feel so fulfilled because I have captured this spectacle that a lot of people can look back on and remember how amazing that night was.
Q: Are there any problems you see within the drag scene, or external problems facing the community? And where do you think the community is heading?
A: An external problem facing the community is the battle to be accepted in cis-oriented spaces. There are still a lot of places that won’t accept AFAB performers, or understand other kinds of artists. Another issue is the fact that these artists aren’t getting paid for all of the hard work they put into their craft. But right now I feel as if Miami is being compared to places like Brooklyn or Chicago where the drag/queer scene is iconic, so hopefully with time and a lot more people in the community pioneering it, Miami will become another major queer city that people from all around will come visit and talk about.
Q: What does your work say about gender, be it your own or that of the performers you photograph?
A: I feel as if my work is helping to defeat gender norms. Photographing these artists has helped me come to terms with my own gender. It has helped me realize that I am a non-binary individual and I want to rebel against the ideas of gender. I hope my work helps people understand that the gender spectrum is very wide and there’s no right or wrong way to choose how to express yourself. With my photographs, I want everyone to realize that true beauty comes from love and acceptance of oneself. ’Cause once you love that person in you, it will translate to the outside world, and a lot of people will notice.
Q: Can you tell us about the zine you recently created, Gen Q?
A: Gen Q is my first zine that I myself curated all on my own. The basic concept is a photo book of different queer individuals that I hold so much admiration for. Each person I photographed was on their own journey of queer identity and challenging gender norms in their own way. The first issue was released in December, 2018. The zine was a passion project that not only challenged me as an artist, but also helped me grow such close bonds to these first sets of models I chose to feature. Unfortunately I only did pre-sales for the first zine and those are officially sold out (outtakes and videos of the zine can be seen on my website honesthenry.com). I am working on Gen Q 2, and for updates on that people can follow my instagram honest_henry.
