Andrea Walker
“Growing up as a gay kid in Italy, the barber’s chair always felt like an intimidating symbol of heteronormativity, one placed in an environment in which my masculinity felt questioned, challenged. As an adult, queerness now feels like the most precious gift.
Embracing my sexuality meant understanding that there are as many ways of being a man as there are men on the planet. My queerness allowed me to explore who I truly am, unapologetically. Today, aesthetically that means green hair, tattoos, piercings. Mentally – today and forever – that means self-expression and true acceptance.
Getting photographed in a traditional barber chair as my most authentic self felt like a wonderful full circle moment. I wish we could all tell our younger selves that heteronormativity is far from something worth aspiring towards. Be queer, be powerful, be free.”
Andrea Walker
Andrea is a queer director, choreographer and dancer based in Brighton. Half-Italian and half-British, he grew up in Rome before moving to the UK 17 years ago, and his identity is shaped by both cultures. Growing up in Italy in the early 2000s with little queer visibility left a lasting impression, making queerness not just a part of who he is, but central to his life and artistic practice. For Andrea, being loud, proud and unapologetically visible is essential—both in how he lives and in the stories he tells through performance.
Since 2017, Andrea has worked closely with Brighton Pride to create large-scale dance video productions that celebrate the festival’s headline acts. These projects began as fun and energetic showcases but, in recent years, have become increasingly political in response to the challenges faced by LGBTQ+ communities. A highlight came in 2023 when a video calling to “Protect Our Queer Spaces” was shown on Pride’s main stage just before Girls Aloud performed. The roar of 50,000 people in response was a powerful moment of recognition, leaving Andrea proud of his contribution to the community.
Andrea’s aesthetic is rooted in queer punk – tattoos, piercings, and green hair worn year-round. His work often carries an energy of sex and sexuality, reflecting his personal motto, “be gay, do crime.” Through his presence, he aims to embody the kind of queer role model his 14-year-old self would have longed for but never had. Above all, Andrea holds onto the belief that being queer is the greatest gift: it is creative, political, joyful, and deeply connected to community.
His message to his younger self and queer kids:
It gets better. You will find yourself, and you’ll realise that being queer is the biggest gift that was ever given to you. We are special, artistic, powerful, and we are community. To quote Miranda Priestly from The Devil Wears Prada: “Everyone wants to be us, Andrea”.
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.