How do you capture the essence of someone who wishes to remain anonymous? This was one of the challenges French Algerian photographer Camille Farrah Lenain faced as part of her series on queer Muslim life in France. In her cinematic and dreamlike portraits, we see a figure partly obscured in a translucent pink veil, gazing into an ornate mirror. Elsewhere, a tightly-cropped image captures a transgender man’s mid-section, revealing a vertical scar and hand calmly resting against patterned pants.
The snapshots are part of Lenain’s new photobook, “Made of Smokeless Fire,” released by Loose Joints Publishing. “It’s important for me to understand the people I’m photographing to the fullest,” said Lenain of the six-year project which involved around 50 LGBTQ+ participants (identified by first name or initials only) from across the country. The photos are accompanied by poetic fragments of text from several sitters on their faith, desires and memories. While some have cut off all contact with their families, others have forged fragile paths towards reconciliation. The range of experiences is as varied as the participants.
Because many – though not all – participants preferred to remain unidentifiable, Lenain tapped into the rich visual grammar of Islam: henna-covered hands, white pigeons, an Amazigh (or Berber) symbol of freedom, and the recurring motif of smoke. In one image, a young sitter with the Arabic word for ‘justice’ painted on her cheek gazes sensuously into the camera, while flooding the frame with wafts of smoke.
