With few examples of happy, out queer lives to look back on before the 1970s, and even less visual evidence of them, I am creating an alternate world narrative for the uncle I didn’t know I had. A life story where fluidity in sexuality and gender are the norm. A life full of acceptance, friends and adventure. A life I would have benefited from knowing as a young, struggling gay man. Where who you love is immaterial. What’s important is that you love.

I recently learned that I had an uncle who may have been gay and passed away not long after I was born. I was fascinated by the possibility that someone in my family may have gone through the same difficulties that I did when coming out. Since my mother divorced when I was a baby, my father’s side of the family is a mystery to me. My imagination quickly took hold and I decided to turn the lack of information into an opportunity to create a life for this uncle, not one of sad realities and fear, but of joy and authenticity where he could be free and uninhibited.

Collecting original, found snapshot photographs from all over the world, I have assembled a collection of images that capture our hero, Uncle Ken, with a sassy hip out in his teens or a loving kiss at his wedding. Normal, everyday moments of him, his friends, and lovers, chosen with care. I have collected ephemera and created letters between him and loved ones as a way to share and fill-out more of his story. Engaging with the photos further, I am adding color and energy through glitter and rhinestones, a nod to the long history of queer nightlife and drag, to enhance the images with the spirit of joy and celebration. A celebration of not only what his world could have been, but what ours still can be.

One of the most exciting parts of my job as a curator is discovering new photography. I really enjoy being a juror because I am able to observe new trends in contemporary photography. As juror of this special award, I felt privileged to see the work of the many photographers, and to read all the project statements. After viewing the many photographs, I am grateful to each practitioner for their personal work, allowing me a window into many different stories that engage with the exploration, expression, and the power of self-representation and underrepresented experiences. In each body of work, I was looking for a clear idea and conceptual foundation combined with strong visual images that represented a new way of approaching the topic or story. I was touched by many poignant stories about aging, memory, loss, grief, and illness. A myriad of important stories about immigration and migration felt very relevant to contemporary society. Photographs submitted also beautifully captured elements of the Black, Latinx, Hispanic, Brazilian, Asian-American, and indigenous experience in the United States, as well as thoughtful work about hybrid identities. Strong work celebrating LGBTQ communities was also part of what I saw.

In An Impossibly Normal Life, Matthew Finley creatively uses snapshots and ephemera from all over the world to produce an imagined narrative about his queer uncle born in the 1930s. The alternative universe features an open, loving, and supported life for Uncle Ken – one that the artist feels he could have benefitted from as a young, struggling gay man. The use of various types of photography in this celebratory narrative of queer life successfully presents a tender imaginary portrait of an aspirational past through carefully sequenced and contextualized compelling imagery.

– Kristen Gresh • Estrellita and Yousuf Karsh Senior Curator of Photographs at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

Mixed media- archival inkjet prints from scanned vintage photos with varnish, glitter and other reflective materials. Prints range in size from 8x10" to 12x16".