Richard
“For me, the barber’s chair is a place of fear, a place where issues clash. The noise, being touched by someone else, small talk and the hyper masculine feel. Added to this confronting the identity issues of how I am seen by the world and trying to fit in. With Chris I wanted to explore this tension, how do I respond to a place of fear? I can try to ignore the aspects of me that are overwhelmed, pretend to myself and the world that they don’t exist, a path that has led me to burnout and mental health challenges. I can move towards acceptance and compassion, acknowledging the chair is in the background and finding a path that allows me to be more fully me even if I’m tied to the chair. I feel that Chris has captured this so beautifully in these photos.”
Richard
An aesthetic doctor who has stood for parliament 5 times, Richard describes themselves simply as a queer person searching beneath life’s rubble to uncover who they truly are. For them, queerness is about authenticity – giving themselves permission to fully embody who they are becoming.
Being seen has never felt straightforward. Despite their appearance, Richard often feels misunderstood by others and sometimes by themselves. That uncertainty shapes their journey as much as the clarity they do find.
They express identity through movement and a full-body tattoo, seeing both as ways of exploring expression, emotion, and form. Different shapes and gestures allow them to connect with feelings they cannot always voice, even while they continue to grapple with how others perceive them.
If speaking to their younger self or queer kids today, Richard would urge them to take time to discover who they are, to explore without fear, and to allow change. They believe turning towards difficult emotions, rather than away from them, is where growth happens. For Richard, life is not about fitting expectations, it is about cultivating your own becoming.
This is UNCUT — a raw, striking portrait series by award-winning photographer Chris Jepson capturing the power and pride of Queer Joy, shot in a barber’s chair. No filters, no retouching, no compromise. Just bold, beautiful people taking up space exactly as they are.