PHOTOGRAPHER Eric Gyamfi CELEBRATES Ghanaian LGBT community with LATEST PROJECT
Ghanaian -born photographer Eric Gyamfi documents the lives of a section of Ghanaian LGBT families with compelling new pieces for the New York Times.
Titled “Just Like Us”, the projects offers rare everyday images of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender individuals in a country where it remains illegal.
S. meets A., her girlfriend, after work. S. is a musician and A. is studying feminism and climate change for her master’s degree. Names have been abbreviated to protect the subjects in these photos.H., A., O., M., and Y. hanging out on a weekend when one of H.’s friends got married.Some of the L.G.B.T. community members organize a night of dance after an International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia event as a way to get to know other community members and network.Sunday at the beach with K.A. doing her friend I.’s hair. N., the young boy who leans on I.’s legs, is her son from a previous relationship.C., who is Hindu, teaches children at the Mandir. C. is the only Hindu in an otherwise Christian family. “I had to find a way to stay religious without feeling nervous or guilty about my sexuality. Here, at the temple, I find that peace, rid of all forms of guilt,” he said. His siblings visit the Mandir with him every once in a while.“Someday, soon, I’d have to live as a straight man,” J. told the photographer one afternoon after school. “I think about that every day.”O. lives with H. in his family house. She considers H. a brother.H. performing in drag.H. and his boyfriend, M.S., who is gay, contemplating his imminent marriage to a woman. His wife was selected for him by his family. “I need a child,” he said. “My parents are demanding a grandchild, too.”K., A.’s boyfriend, spending a hot afternoon outside with friends.L. and N. met through a mutual friend and have been together since September 2014. L. moved out of her home when she was 17 and has been living on her own since. “I try not to make friends. That way, I keep people away from my private life as their questions and suspicions never get answered nor confirmed,” she told the photographer. “We keep a close circle of friends who are mostly just like us. It’s not the best way to live but it has worked for us thus far.”A. after a dance session. “My stepfather is very open minded,” he said. “I can sense that he is not so happy about dance as he doesn’t think I can make a career out of it. but he is happy that I am happy when I dance so that’s good for me. The first song I usually dance to is my father’s.”H.’s family making spring rolls and pies for O.’s mother’s funeral celebration. H. played a key role in the organization of the funeral rites with O.’s family.A. examining herself in her bathroom mirror.N., R., and N.’s nephew cleaning in the morning. N. and R. have been together for nearly two years and live together. N. is a chef and R. is a musician.A. and K., and little A., making rice balls for lunch. A. and K. are a couple and have been living together for almost two years. Little A., who lives in the same compound house, spends time with them when she is not school.
