The German capital has plenty to offer outside of Berghain and Boiler. One such must-see is a new retrospective from queer photographer Pancho Assoluto, writes Liam Heitmann-Ryce-LeMercier.
The mid-year months are go-time for those Aussie queers with itchy feet. The months of June, July and August see some very heavy foot traffic in continental Europe as many Australians flee the winter chills down under and chase summer flings in Paris, Madrid and Berlin.
The latter has plenty to offer LGBTQ+ travellers this month, with Whole Festival (17-20 July) and the Pride march on Christopher Street Day (25 July) representing particular highlights. Of course, there are many other queer attractions to occupy Aussies abroad during the Berlin summer – gay saunas and sex-on-premises venues asides – but those in need of something more cultural are surely in luck.
Berlin-based photographer Jörg Meier, better known by his alias Pancho Assoluto, is part of a showcase of work by queer artists at the Semjon Contemporary Gallery in Mitte. Founded in 2011 by art historian and gallerist Semjon HN Semjon, the space is well-known for its championing of experimental and contemporary art across a range of mediums.
In celebration of Pride Week, the Semjon Contemporary Gallery presents Verzaubert – proud to be proud (17 July – 1 August) and will showcase work by many of the queer photographers whom Meier regards as contemporaries, as well as role models.
Speaking of the gallery’s owner and namesake, Meier says, “Semjon is not only a good person and a critic, but also an outstanding curator who can weave the exhibited works into his spaces like pearls on a string. Now, for the third time, Semjon is exhibiting my work alongside other artists in a group exhibition.”
With each show at the Semjon Contemporary Gallery being built around a particular theme – in what Meier says “reflects the challenges and trends of today’s society” – the upcoming show promises to be a compelling presentation of queer expression and identity.
This will be especially evident in Meier’s selected images, which feature refugees and porn actors among his portrait subjects. His expansive view of the world has been informed by a lifelong passion for photography, which began at the age of eight, where he documented huge quantities of his daily life until the age of 34.
Now in his mid-50s, Meier has mastered his use of the camera as a means of feeding his curiosity for the unfamiliar. It also helped to provide him access to the kinds of people and places that he had previously been unable to infiltrate empty-handed.
Today, he primarily investigates the way that daily life operates and how its many small, random elements are all interconnected. “The camera transformed into a powerful tool for me,” he explains. “Not only to understand the world, but to actively participate in change – particularly in areas like politics and the queer community. It helps me stand against injustices while keeping conversations alive with others. My photography reflects my understanding of the world, aiming to provoke thought and dialogue.”
Frequently moving between major cities for vocational and social activities – very much the prototypical ‘gay on the go’ – Meier has an informed sense of Europe’s vibrant and diverse society. This also makes him equally aware of the sizeable political shifts faced by the continent today, with the alarming rise of German far-right party AfD presenting the most immediate threat to his Berlin homebase.
“Thus, the camera remains essential for not only making sense of my surroundings,” Meier says, “but also advocating for the queer community.”
A large component of Meier’s engagement with LGBTQ+ culture is the degree of visibility he lends to its contributing voices and artists. His popular online following has shone a bright light queer personalities and stories that occupy the spaces that he explores, both with and without his camera.
Above all, his main interest is to listen what his portrait subjects share with him. These story details inform his understanding of who is in front of the lens, and that is clearly translated in the final image.
“My work is characterised by a consistent documentation that explores the themes of rootedness, origin and belonging,” he says, “at a time when many people are searching for an identity for various reasons. The subject, therefore, is of great relevance to me.”
Meier’s images carry a comfortable, invitational sense of familiarity. The viewer has a clear idea of who the subject is when they are presented in one of Meier’s intimate, relaxed images. While his photographs rejoice in the suggestive potential of portrait photography – and his images do strive for a compelling spritz of sex appeal – they are fundamentally designed to capture a small piece of the subject’s internal personhood.
“I engage very deeply with people,” Meier says. “Above all, I listen. I portray people from different social and cultural backgrounds. It requires respect, patience and a deeper connection.”
That connection between the barrel of the camera and the life behind the eyes of the subject is boldly on display in each of Meier’s portraits, in equal parts erotic and entrancing. If one of the most important aspects of queer activism is exposure and representation, then it certainly helps if the images being presented are interesting as well as beautiful. Meier’s new exhibition surely achieves this.
