Karl Emerick Hanuska · Artist & photographer
Seeing people
more clearly
I make portraits about what we reveal, what we conceal and what others think they see.
Gay and queer life is central to my work. I’m drawn to masculinity and femininity in their many forms: the archetypes we recognise, the contradictions we overlook and the expectations we place on one another.
Through self-portraiture, staged encounters and documentary photography, I explore identity and belonging: how we find one another, what we build together and how we shape and are shaped by the communities and institutions we belong to.
My Unseen Me · Self-portraits01 / The individual beyond the label
The Radical Act
of Just Being.
These portraits of queer refugees and migrants began with an idea of heroism that changed through conversation.
Made in small studio spaces beside community gatherings, they attend to how people feel and choose to appear. Chiaroscuro and large prints invite close looking; joy and theatricality also belong.
View the project02 / The individual within the ritual
Statues of flesh and bone
Evzones
A fixed gaze. A body holding its position. I look for the individual and the effort behind the ceremonial stillness, where strength and fragility sit close together.
View the project03 / Further work
The same feathers.
Another meaning.
A crown of golden feathers passes between people in my studio. Its meaning changes with the wearer. I return to the same object to see what people make of it.
Explore the study04 / Individuals and community
Q Kitchen
A haven for queer newcomers to the Netherlands and a place of connection with the wider community. Portraits and shared moments trace different aspects of that belonging.
View the projectMaking our community seen is my form of activism.
Read about my practiceExplore all works