rebecca camacho presents
Jamil hellu solo booth
The Armory Show
Javits Center, New York City
9 September — 12 September 2021
Jamil hellu solo booth
The Armory Show
Javits Center, New York City
9 September — 12 September 2021
![](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/7d88b80613d374c0007efd1f490c7b2d/e8a4dc65-ca6f-4256-9ef5-d2574ff485f1_rw_1920.png?h=9c61edbf15ed81947481e330112d5967)
"There is something unabashedly sweet about Jamil Hellu’s photographic series Hues that leaves a queer soul feeling utterly satisfied; so much so, that I have compared my first encounter with the work to nibbling on a rainbow whirly pop. Over the course of four years, Hellu has created a body of strikingly saturated collaborative portraits of himself posing with fellow queer people across various races, ethnicities, genders, and cultural backgrounds. In a time marked by the anti-social turn in queer scholarship, Hellu maintains an admirable commitment to celebrating the queer community through extravagant physical presence.
... What differentiates Hellu from his ancestors and peers, however, is a distinctly playful sense of humor. While many of the photographs in the series tackle stereotypes through a dichotomy between traditionally gendered attires and the genders of those wearing them — heightened by the deadpan poses and facial expressions — Hues should by no means be misunderstood as frivolous. Instead, the artist cleverly utilizes humor as a political tool to urge against queer assimilation, and makes a conscious effort to highlight the significance of diversity. Through visual strategies of lush amplification, Hellu reveals a simultaneous process of masquerade and exposure that takes place in manifold hues of the queer body, and confirms the beauty of connecting across difference."
Ksenia M. Soboleva
Ksenia M. Soboleva
![](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/7d88b80613d374c0007efd1f490c7b2d/168e02bb-9e79-4567-9042-13d856db5b0a_rw_1920.png?h=c40d01df5b96a72e4fcec582c41daf47)
![](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/7d88b80613d374c0007efd1f490c7b2d/6eb2cb7a-1845-4018-9e93-bab139286e0d_rw_1920.png?h=147da35d9569b3d3d04c1009ae107509)
![](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/7d88b80613d374c0007efd1f490c7b2d/9c48bfb4-fd34-45fb-8145-c4989531098f_rw_1920.png?h=234691e61d5d3f7e1245c6514b5d79e5)
![](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/7d88b80613d374c0007efd1f490c7b2d/95a428ec-70a1-4cf6-89ba-e5e4919fe228_rw_1200.png?h=329212c0c4fee7b16914c39fe417e106)
![](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/7d88b80613d374c0007efd1f490c7b2d/03108b36-edb8-41f8-b96d-1819e53b62dc_rw_1920.png?h=37599570fc033e5530148152948d9dca)
![](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/7d88b80613d374c0007efd1f490c7b2d/64c36d54-edbd-4dad-b05c-d37dc6bf8b43_rw_1920.png?h=ea41db3d085e9473c82c41050cd356a1)