This Paris-based queer artist uses colorful self portraits to explore honesty & vulnerability

Colin J. Radcliffe is a multidisciplinary artist based in Paris. Radcliffe’s ceramic, photographic, and felt collage work chronicles his successes and failures in queer love. Centering on the dynamics of homosocializing in queer digital spaces, the pursuit of love and intimacy obstructed by a chronically diseased body, humor as a catalyst for healing trauma, and ultimately, queer relationships.

I first encountered Colin's work from an invitation to one of his shows in Brooklyn, New York featuring figurative ceramics in amusingly suggestive poses. Sadly, I was not able to make his show and meet him in person, but I've seen him grow to include solo shows, a book launch, and now a move to France. How exciting!

Scroll through to learn more about Colin and see highlights of his work! You can also find him on the web at colinjradcliffe.com and on Instagram, @colinmemaybe.

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Tell us about your journey to becoming a photographer.

It was quite modest. I very slowly have eased my way into photography, and actually resisted the idea of calling myself a photographer for a long time. I don't have any formal photo training, so I learned most of what I know myself, some from observing friends who shoot in film and digital, and a bit from my mom who became a full-time photographer around the time I was in undergrad at Bard College.

How does your queer identity shape the way you see/portray your subjects?

An Italian film director, Federico Fellini, had said "all art is autobiographical; the pearl is the oyster's autobiography." I find this to be true. The only way I can see and think and do is through the lens of who I am, and I am a queer person. So whatever I do is an extension of myself and my identity, therefore queerness will consistently be an element of what I produce. Primarily I make self portraits and work of friends and lovers, who are also queer. In that way there is a lot of reciprocal empathy, trust, and understanding that goes into the production of work portraying my subjects.

What story do you hope to tell the world with your art?

There isn't any particular story I'm trying to tell other than my own. I typically make work about myself, my experiences, tastes, feelings, relationships, and people I know and care deeply for. If I had a hope it would be to contribute to the canon of queer art in a meaningful way, as a reflection of the times we live in and the ways we find love, friendship, and connection in an increasingly digital world.

Are there specific themes you try to consistently incorporate in your work?

Emotional honesty and vulnerability. I don't feel compelled or even see the point really in making visual narratives about something meaningless or opaque. For me, my work should be a tool for reflection and connection. While my stories are my own, the themes in them are often universal or broadly felt and understood by other queer people. Work about queer narratives by queer people, even when their stories are specific to them, are a way for the rest of us to feel seen, respected, and represented.

How do you plan a concept and where do you find inspiration?

I work very intuitively, how I feel and what comes from that gives me the creative direction. So in that way my work is very personal or autobiographical. Once I feel really compelled by a feeling or an idea, I then start to focus on the details that relate to or support it. Occasionally I like to make cultural, historical, or mythological references to build up the narrative and make it more visually legible for a wider audience.

We often focus on LGBTQ+ people being the subject of art, but not the artists. Can you talk about the importance of having LGBTQ+ artists behind the camera?

There are significant and meaningful nuances, sensibilities, and sensitivities that come from the person photographing or producing art. Aesthetically you can, of course, separate queerness from being queer, and have heternormative work made by queer people and even the inverse, however there is something inauthentic in having a story or visual presentation made by someone who hasn't lived, felt, and been a part of a specific experience. That to me is why it's important to have queer people in creative positions, so that queer narratives, tastes, values, and aesthetics can be honest, genuine, and representative of the broader LGBTQ+ experience.

How does being based in Paris impact your work?

I spent most of my life in New York City, which has an incredibly diverse and dynamic environment. There I never felt a shortage of ideas for new projects. There was always something new, something exciting, some new possibility to get swept up in. Recently I moved to Paris which is comparatively more conservative and has a slower rhythm, but the culture here places a higher emphasis on quality and tradition. Here I feel I stand out more, especially for the more theatrical and vibrant style of my work. It's hard to say exactly how Paris will impact the trajectory of my work, but I am interested to see what effects it will have.

What are you working on next?

My photographic work is sometimes separate and other times directly tied to the sculptural work I make. I'm experimenting with ways to connect and incorporate both of those practices with each other. I'm working on a project that takes screenshots and photos, and using a film technique to transfer the image onto clay. So this would be a fusion of photography and ceramics.

See more of Radcliffe's work at colinjradcliffe.com and on Instagram, @colinmemaybe.

See more of Radcliffe's work at colinjradcliffe.com and on Instagram, @colinmemaybe.