Diego Maeso

Drag has become more popular in our society, however the drag shown on television or magazines is not an accurate representation of what is really happening, it is only a small part of it. Drag is not longer cis (people who are not trans) gay men doing female impersonations, it has never been really, but all the drag artists that does not fit in this category have been forgotten. Drag kings, drag monsters or women being drag queens are not on the mass media, at least not in the same terms, but they exist and they are very important part of the drag scene. Drag is not only an entertainment, it also represents a safe space where explore gender and identity, to subvert gender stereotypes. Trans and non binary people are an important part of the drag scene and so are they in this project.

I am myself part of the drag community, I started to do it more than 3 years ago, but I really got involved in the scene when I moved to UK in 2017. As I am part of the drag scene I want to show the complexity of drag through this series of portraits. This project started in October 2018 and it is still in process. I have been shooting in Bath, Bristol, London, Birmingham, Surrey and Ross-on-Wye. 

The main purpose of the project is celebrate drag and drag artists in its complexity beyond the mainstream.  I want to let people know the diversity and complexity of the art of drag, sometimes the line between reality and performance is not always so clear, there are points where fact and fiction meet. Cinema and theatre have influenced my photography in terms of lighting and scenarios.