For photographer Michael Berg, the artist behind the love story, it’s about much more than pretty pictures. They need to force people to take a stand about both the pictures and in this case, the subject of homosexuality.
It all started at a party where Michael was approached with the question of him doing pictures for a gay exhibition, World Out Games. The World Out Games is a sports event where only gays can participate. Besides this sports event, there is a homosexual rights conference where the Liquid Lovestories was to be shown.
To begin with, the fluids weren't supposed to be the the main content in the series. Michael wanted to use families, gay couples with kids and then place them in various situations. This however proved to be much much harder than expected. It was basically impossible for him to get volunteers for the pieces. A lot of ideas were thrown around, but the different test shots didn’t live up to the vision had for the exhibition. So it was back to a blank canvas. He wanted something completely different, something graphic and beautiful. This combined with a Dymo strip of hard facts about homosexuality and the treatment of gays around the world. This was a contrast to the soft and nice fluids. Michael decided that the best way to show something you can’t grasp or hold, would be by using something we all know but has the same characteristics, it’s ever changing. The liquid represents “love”, this undefinable “thing” that nobody can control or deny.
All the pictures are made from water and pigment dye mixed together to get the right combination of colours. Made specifically for the exhibition at the World Out Games, it was a project that fitted Michael perfectly. Asked to give his perspective on homosexuality and their rights, he let his passion for art and the provocative, drive him to the end result. They are designed to catch your eye with their beauty and then force you to confront the hard facts printed on them.
“The whole process of the series has really made me think and re-think some of the thoughts and statements there are about gays and lesbians. I was met with a lot of different attitudes from the people around about the project. People even thought I turned guy just because I spend on long time digging into the problems and focusing 100% on the project. That just shows how narrow-minded people are.” - Michael Berg
It all started at a party where Michael was approached with the question of him doing pictures for a gay exhibition, World Out Games. The World Out Games is a sports event where only gays can participate. Besides this sports event, there is a homosexual rights conference where the Liquid Lovestories was to be shown.
To begin with, the fluids weren't supposed to be the the main content in the series. Michael wanted to use families, gay couples with kids and then place them in various situations. This however proved to be much much harder than expected. It was basically impossible for him to get volunteers for the pieces. A lot of ideas were thrown around, but the different test shots didn’t live up to the vision had for the exhibition. So it was back to a blank canvas. He wanted something completely different, something graphic and beautiful. This combined with a Dymo strip of hard facts about homosexuality and the treatment of gays around the world. This was a contrast to the soft and nice fluids. Michael decided that the best way to show something you can’t grasp or hold, would be by using something we all know but has the same characteristics, it’s ever changing. The liquid represents “love”, this undefinable “thing” that nobody can control or deny.
All the pictures are made from water and pigment dye mixed together to get the right combination of colours. Made specifically for the exhibition at the World Out Games, it was a project that fitted Michael perfectly. Asked to give his perspective on homosexuality and their rights, he let his passion for art and the provocative, drive him to the end result. They are designed to catch your eye with their beauty and then force you to confront the hard facts printed on them.
“The whole process of the series has really made me think and re-think some of the thoughts and statements there are about gays and lesbians. I was met with a lot of different attitudes from the people around about the project. People even thought I turned guy just because I spend on long time digging into the problems and focusing 100% on the project. That just shows how narrow-minded people are.” - Michael Berg
