Let Every River Envy Our Mouths

Let Every River Envy Our Mouths explores my relationship with my husband Stephen, seen through the lens of home. Black-and-white, bare, and intimate, the photographs trace the intersection of the personal and political—the pervasive queer erasure of today’s climate. In therapy, Stephen uncovered that his childhood church had been deemed a cult. As tensions with his parents escalated, the hope that they would confront their homophobia felt increasingly futile. When we married, it was painful, though not surprising, that neither parent attended. Our personal losses mirror a broader push for anti-LGBTQ+ legislation. For us, marriage is at stake; for others, their very lives are. I depict us in a domestic space, contemplative yet at peace. Through religious motifs, the images affirm that queer people embody divinity—a truth in direct opposition to the queerphobic rhetoric of those in power. Like faith, home is constructed. Ours is not built from geography, but from security. My home is with Stephen. Stephen’s story is unique yet painfully familiar. The broken relationships in our lives may never heal, but we have each other. To live honestly is both radical and profound.