The faces we see in photographer Umberto Nicoletti’s new book of portraits exude joy, hope, humor, beauty, confidence and power. But the text in the book, which explains the stories behind those faces, tells nearly the opposite story.
It details instances of extortion, abandonment, imprisonment, torture and murder. The people featured in Nicoletti’s portraits, collected in a book titled Asylum, are all members of the LGBTQ+ community who have sought asylum in countries far more accepting of their identities than the ones they’re struggling to escape. At home, their identities have left them subject to punishments that range from public flogging to execution. Sad, desperate and sometimes horrific as their stories may be, Nicoletti has refused to present his subjects as objectified figures of tragedy, instead portraying them as stars and role-models. “I wanted to use beautiful, glossy images to evoke empathy, and to present each of them as a glamorous individual,” he said by Zoom from his studio in Milan. “We’re used to seeing actors or musicians portrayed like that – as heroes. But someone who fights for their rights, that’s a true hero.”
