The winner of the Firecracker Grant 2018 has been announced as American photographer, Peyton Fulford.
Her series ‘Infinite Tenderness’ is a highly personal account of growing up queer in a religious household in Southern America. She says:
‘I grew up in a religious household in a small southern town. My mother was raised in the Sanctified Holy Church and my father was raised Southern Baptist. As a result of the strict beliefs I had been taught since birth, I did not feel comfortable coming out as queer until I was 21 years old.
In 2016, I began exploring the notion of intimacy and identity among the LGBTQ+ community in the American South. These are the people I have met and connected with along the way. Through this work, I have documented the exploration of one’s body, sexuality, and gender that comes along with growing up and identifying oneself.
My intention is to empower others and create an accepting space for queer kids that grow up in small towns and rural areas. Each individual in this series is dependent on another for support and understanding of their ever-changing identities. This is a visual representation of today’s American youth.’
Peyton will receive £3,500 funding to aid the completion of this project provided by Firecracker and with support from Genesis.