For many LGBT youth across the world, home is less about where you grow up than it is a sense of community that allows you to feel safe. This concept is nothing new, with the 1991 documentary “Paris is Burning” highlighting the importance of gay safe spaces, especially among POC. Yet with many of London’s LGBT venues facing closure, the nightclub massacre in Orlando and the election of blatant homophobe Mike Pence as America’s next Vice-President, more and more queer people feel their rights are under attack – and rightfully so. In this seemingly fragile time, Matt Lambert teams up with hook-up app Grindr to present “Home”, a book that the Berlin-based photographer labels “a response to cynical conservatives in America who mocked the idea that people celebrated gay clubs and bars as sacred spaces”.
Through this project, Lambert sheds light on the impact of newer, digitalised sancuatries. The photographer states that he is “not trying to present this dystopian view of the world, that romance is dead as a result of the internet, but rather to say ‘hey, we’re here now and digital spaces have done some really fucking incredible things for people over the last couple of years.’”
By asking young gay men what they consider to be a safe space, the book aims to document the “ways digital or virtual spaces have helped them find a sanctuary or solidarity.” Throughout “Home”, intimate and sexually charged photographs are coupled with telling stories from multiple protagonists. Providing art direction is the Berlin duo Studio Yukido, who, along with Lambert, successfully present the benefits of technology on LGBT communities. This release marks the beginning of an ongoing collaborative relationship between Grindr and Lambert, as the photographer has just been assigned as Global Commissioning Director for content creation.
Scroll through the image gallery below for even more images from “Home” by Matt Lambert:
“Home” is available for purchase on Grindr’s online shop
All photos courtesy of Matt Lambert