Stock Homo

Stock Homo is a series of photographs shot in the style of “weird” stock photos that illustrate personal encounters with homophobia growing up gay in a small town in Mexico. These memories range from how I got blackmailed into coming out by my school in grade 8 to seven years later when I actually told my mom I had a girlfriend and she warned me I would be engulfed in flames after my death.

Stock Homo illustrates each story using classic stock photo elements like overly expressive models, props, flat lighting, and a white studio background, and each image is dotted with watermark-style words that spell out each of the written stories. The photographs are suspended in front of the gallery space walls, which have been covered in a grey and white checker PNG grid. Visiting Stock Homo is like logging in to a chronological visual experience that references internet posts and floating PNGs.

Most of the models in the photos are members of the LGBTQ+ community themselves, and through shooting the photos we were able to share our stories with each other; so although Stock Homo was initially birthed as a therapeutic activity, as the project started to take shape it felt like a community was being built. Ultimately, by reenacting these stories, we felt like we were taking our power back, so at the opening reception everyone shares a colourful cake that reads "it's a great day to be gay," which turns Stock Homo into a celebration of queerness.