Tate Photography: Ajamu X

Self-portraiture then is a way to interrogate not just who I am in terms of my identity and sexuality, but, more importantly, who I can fantasise myself to be.

Ajamu X, born in Huddersfield in 1963, is a British photographic artist, curator, archivist, and activist. He is best known for his fine art photography which explores same-sex desire, the erotic and sensory, and the Black queer body. As a leading specialist in Black British LGBTQ+ history, heritage, and memory, his work as an archivist and activist documents the lives and experiences of Black LGBTQ+ people in the United Kingdom.

His work is held in many private and public collections, including Tate, the Rose Art Museum, Autograph, Arts Council of England, and the Victoria & Albert Museum.

I think photography privileges the visual, but in the darkroom the other senses kick in: the sonic, the tactility, the smell is important too.