Alan
he/him
Alan is a queer singer, musician and writer. Through music, words and performance, he explores identity and connection, using his voice and presence to take up space without apology.
On his chest, Alan has a tattoo of the West Pier and a murmuration of starlings, taken from a photograph he shot himself a few years ago. He’s long been fascinated by the pier and its history, the “old lady pier” he sees as a relic of a bygone era, of seaside vaudeville, and as a symbol of resilience, a structure that’s survived fire and over a century of storms and still stands. To Alan, it’s also a symbol of Brighton itself, and of everyone who calls it home.
Body Language.
“For over thirty years, my work has centred on visibility, authorship and who gets to be seen.
This project continues my long-term commitment to photographing LGBTQIA+ lives.
For a lot of LGBTQ+ people, modifying the body is a way of marking a transition, standing in for something lost, or taking back a body that wasn’t always theirs to shape in the first place. That personal story is one I want to tell.”
Chris Jepson, photographer