A festivity of America's queer cowboy neighborhood
Luke Gilford spent his formative years in the midst of rodeo culture. His father was born in Denver, Colorado and was a champion and later a judge in the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association.
While the mythology and magnetism of the American rodeo fascinated Gilford as a young boy, as he got older he began to notice his darker underbelly, which was marked by homophobia and hostility towards anything that could be classified as "other".
All images © Luke Gilford
Gilford, who is based between LA and New York, only discovered a whole subculture within the rodeo circle, the International Gay Rodeo Association (IGRA), in 2016 and finally began to see himself as part of the rodeo family.
As the organizing body for the LGBTQ + cowboy and cowgirl community in North America, participants from rural areas of the country are invited to various educational programs and competitions.
"Finding the IGRA felt like uncovering a shining beacon of exception – a restriction on rural standards," writes Gilford in the introduction to his new photo book about the people who make up the community.
“The queer rodeo is a safe place for everyone on the LGBTQ + spectrum, including allies and supporters. Participants often travel hundreds of miles to be there as most live in communities where there are no resources or opportunities for queer people to connect with one another. "
For the past four years Gilford has toured the country with this vibrant community, building trust as both a participant and an observer, and documenting everything he could along the way. The resulting images were shot on medium format film and printed in a traditional dark room. They are rich in emotions and colors.
The intimate series offers everyone from bull masters to drag performers to avid fans of queer rodeo the narrative of rugged individualism and conventional masculinity that has dominated the cowboy mythology of the American West for so many years.
“This project started to prove to myself that rural weirdness is not just a myth, but a living, breathing reality. One of the great powers of queer rodeo is its ability to disrupt America's tribal dichotomies that cannot contain who we really are – liberal versus conservative, urban versus rural, "coastal elite" versus "Central America," "writes Gilford.
“It's incredibly rare to find a community that actually spans both ends of the spectrum and creates a whole new kind of spectrum. National anthem celebrates the typically invisible strange bodies that live their lives, discover themselves and fall in love with rural landscapes. These themes bring the aura of promise back to America. "
National anthem published by Damiani; lukegilford.com