Forgotten in the dark
France
2024
The work explores the marginalized world of ballroom communities and the metaphor of invisibilized queer individuals. Like nocturnal creatures, these shadows lost in the darkness are silenced, marginalized by daytime social norms. This movement, created by and for racialized LGBTQ+ people from the Black and Latino communities, has its origins in the dance competitions and fashion shows, known as “balls”, that emerged in the 1960s in Harlem, New York.
Through film and photographic series, the work breaks through this oppressive darkness by documenting the spaces lived by queer people in the ballroom communities of Seoul and Paris, and offers them a platform to express their truths through dance, giving them a powerful voice and making them visible to the day.
Portfolio
About the artist
Tom Kleinberg, a multi-disciplinary artist, explores issues of representation of multiple minorities through photography and video. His aim is to give a voice to marginalized communities in order to question norms, explore forgotten narratives and build bridges between different cultures and identities.