NEWS

Artist Daniel Handal and Lane Senior Curator of Photographs at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Karen Haas, took part in a discussion regarding Handal’s series “Pajaritos” for FotoFest. The virtual discussion was organized in support of FotoFest’s current exhibition, “Public Life: Home and the people who live there.”

From FotoFest’s statement for the event:

Daniel Handal’s colorful series “Pajaritos” borrows its name from a pejorative term used in Latin America to demean and belittle the queer community by referring to gay men as “birdies.” Handal rejects the derogatory nature of this expression in “Pajaritos,” reclaiming the word as an expression of endearment through his photographic portraits of dazzling tropical songbirds positioned against pastel hues of pinks, blues, yellows, and greens. Handal’s treatment of the songbirds accentuates each bird’s unique features and prideful posture to suggest that these exceptional differences are essential components of a beautiful and powerful community.

Watch the discussion in full below: