Opulence started with me being invited into different queer spaces. As Perry once stated; ‘Dustin, we need brothers like you.’

After the passing of my brother, I felt an urgency to reveal the kinds of problematic power dynamics which are in western societies by helping folks vocalise their oppression.

I did this, and continue to do this, through workshops, the images I take, exhibitions I put up and collaborations I wish to realise.

Through trials and tribulations I succeeded to act as a visual amplifier that transmitted the community’s challenges and thoughts through photography. Of course, the community came with demands and questions about what would be done with the photographs. By giving them agency to co-creating with me on the project and it’s articles became a mandatory method to shaping the genetic code of Opulence.

As I worked on Opulence, it deeply influenced and effected my life and creative process in ways that I was never able to imagine.
It thought me to cheerfully learn from my mistakes and trust the journey more than tensely living towards my own expectations.

With my project Opulence I always wanted to treat this as a form of dialogue by utilising and reactivating my platforms and peers. So, below I’ve reached out to some of the people photographed throughout the years, and asked them if there was a cause or charity that they wanted to highlight. Over the next few days I’ll be sharing voices from the series, please listen to them.

Some of the text has been edited and checked for spelling, yet nothing has been altered.

For now, here’s a playlist I currently boogie to.

Forward
🖤🏳️‍🌈💪🏿

D.Th.