Long Live the Drag Kings and Queens.

Drag is Art. Much of queer liberation is built on the backbones of Black, Indigenous, and people of colour, yet often go miscredited. In these images, I wanted to celebrate and capture the allure and power of BIPOC creatives, particularly drag kings and queens.

This series of photographs places drag artists in the everyday realm — from convenience stores to adult shops — capturing their glamour even through the most mundane of activities. Drag is a creative art form that I have admired for ages, and with the scene becoming more diverse, it’s exciting and enthralling to see the intersection of culture and queerness front and centre stage.

Photographer: Bipasha Chakraborty

Models/Interviewees: Amyl — @amyl.com.au

Barbi Ghanoush — @barbi.ghanoush

Cassandra — @cassandreathequeen_

Manish Interest — @manish.interest

Papi Chulo — @nati_daddy

“What does drag mean to you, especially as a BIPOC creative?”

Cassandra

@cassandrathequeen_

Drag is a way for me to explore and express my gender identity and artistry. I also take drag as a mirror of my life and the people around me. I want to take inspiration from the stories, experiences, and emotions of myself and my friends.

Manish Interest

@manish.interest

Drag is a way for me to connect my culture to my queer identity. I was the first Sri Lankan queer person I ever knew of and kind of had to be my own representation as a result. Being able to be my authentic self in drag and bring things like Bharathanatyam into it means I get to be that representation for other people and show there's nothing shameful or wrong with being LGBTQ+ and Tamil. Being Manish is the only time I don't feel too brown to be gay or too gay to be brown, I just feel like me.

Barbi Ghanoush

@barbi.ghanoush

Papi Chulo

@nati_daddy

Drag King for me has always been a multi-disciplinary art form, because you truly can do anything you want as a Drag King. The art form is so vast and elevated that it often strays so far from “mainstream Drag,” because we don’t fit neatly into a little box. Drag to me is the ultimate gender performance, that can often transform into genuine gender expression. As a BIPOC performer I still often feel that I have to work twice as hard and as long to achieve the same level of recognition as white artists. Still, even when it comes it remains to be tokenistic, and this is why I focus on making my own art and events that highlight purely BIPOC creatives. See @_gagevents / @thanksfor_havingme

Amyl

@amyl.com.au

Drag has helped me understand my identity in ways that had been out of reach in the past: in terms of gender, it’s helped me learn that I’m able to float around in a way that feels organic; and the chance to wear certain wigs has allowed me to feel more in touch with my culture. Doing drag as a person of colour in a city whose drag scene isn’t touted for its diversity is, in its own way, quite special. It feels powerful to disrupt the racial monotony that has taken a hold of the community, and it’s inspiring to play a part in creating a world where someone can go to a drag show and always see a performer who looks like them.