Alek Szmytko: Boxes Are Meant To Be Broken
Watching life as it unfolds in front of our eyes, in some otherworld colors – London photographer and art director Alek Szmytko’s imagery is loud and bold and full of life in all the good ways. To get a running start on his photography, we asked Alek to share some of his favorite shots with us, while also telling us about his principles as a photographer, documentarian, and human being exploring identities.
Morganne Boulden: The Weight We Carry
Brooklyn photographer Morganne Boulden captures the world around her in a fun, yet extremely sensitive way. And as all things beautiful, Morganne’s photography is about overcoming darkness. With all of her work made while on road trips across America with close friends and chosen family, these photos are about celebrating how our will to live can prevail – under all circumstances and against all odds.
Laurel Golio: Love Is Allowing Someone To Change
New York photographer and director Laurel Golio’s commercial career is defined by prestigious clients, yet it’s her personal projects that have earned her recognition as a photojournalist fighting LGBTQIA+ visibility. As more and more people are keen to get a glimpse of the world through Laurel’s lenses, we asked her to share some of her favorite pictures as well as her thoughts on love, visibility, and self-expression with us.
Kristine Madjare: Into The Unknown
Riga photographer Kristine Madjare’s imagery merges documentary and fashion photography, and does so for the sole purpose of showing how a little bit of hope can change lives for the better. To celebrate Container Love’s 10 years anniversary, we would love to introduce you to some of our newest friends, beautiful artists from all over the world portraying diversity in its purest form. Kristīne is one of them.
The Hidden Dimension: Official Trailer
The Hidden Dimension is a portrait of queer photographer and visual artist Leo Maki. An intimate journey into the mind of the artist based in Warsaw, Poland. The film explores the creative process behind his work where sexuality, desire, and reality blends into art.
Ira Lupu: Documenting Homeland Under Attack
Ukrainian photographer Ira Lupu opens up about the implications of the war in her life and career, including her last documentary photo series Time of the Phoenix portraying her nation under attack. She shares with Container Love the decision behind going back to Ukraine under attack, and the ways that society has come together to protect their country, including having queer military units.
Jan Baszak: Sculpting Spaces
After a great reception of his last work “The Discomfort of Evening" Jan Baszak sits down with Container Love to talk about his approach to arts as a sculptor and a designer. The inspiration behind his creations and the ways of crafting space. The queer artist also shares his vision upon the current state of LGBTQIA+ rights in Poland and the political scenario.
Krystian Lipiec: Coming Home To You
Warsaw artist Krystian Lipiec’s story is one of personal growth, one that has been documented through his gorgeous imagery that he likes to refer to simply as beauty photography. In conversation with Container Love, he told us about the forests surrounding his mother’s house, his coming out, and how overcoming hesitation has changed his life forever.
Tatsiana Tribunalova: To Embrace Is To Shine
We celebrate 10 years of love by introducing some new friends, wonderful artists taking a stand in our fight for visibility. Berlin photographer Tatsiana Tribunalova’s pictures are like outtakes from a music video of a superstar that never existed. We asked Tatsiana for a selection of her favorite photos and a chance to pick her brains on how one should express love and embrace their true identity. Have a look!
Jari Jones By Malik Dupree: An Iconic Collaboration
There are only a handful of characters out there right now that can compare to the force of nature that is Jari Jones. The legendary transfem activist, model, writer, and producer has done a lot for queer rights and to make the community visible in the US and worldwide. Now, her message of love gets an iconic rewrap thanks to wickedly talented Brooklyn photographer Malik Dupree and their beautiful collaboration.
Nana Yaw Oduro: Losing It At Home
What to do when you feel like you are losing the very things that made you the person that you are? – Accra photographer Nana Yaw Oduro’s latest book, Losing It At Home is a beautiful medium to tell a heavy story of one’s struggles and self-doubt.
Jean Gritsfeldt: Fashion As A Statement
Love Brand Jean Gritsfeldt’s latest collection, Born in Kyiv. Sculptor of Love, made headlines all over the world when it made its debut at the Berlin Fashion Week. Shooting a selection of designs with Container Love, we could finally ask Jean to tell his extraordinary story of starting from scratch after leaving Ukraine, his commitment to environmentalism, and why each piece he creates should be a statement on its own.
The Rules Have To Be Changed – Container Love Artists On The Year Ahead
For an extra special editorial, we asked some of our favorite photographers from all around the world to share a picture of theirs from the past year alongside some thoughts, their hopes and wishes for the next one. This is what they wrote.
Stéphane Gizard: Hunting Down Memories
An archive of unpublished images from 1999 showing different encounters and shades of youth. That is Irréversible, the last book of Paris photographer Stéphane Gizard that shows in a mix of polaroid photos and films a look back with elegance on what is not with us anymore. A trip of nostalgia, a journey of emotions, lovers and memories in conversation with Container Love.
Jamal Nxedlana: I Am Because You Are
The art of letting others shine – Johannesburg-based photographer Jamal Nxedlana captures the reality of queerness in South Africa. In conversation with Container Love, Jamal told us about how a community’s story should be told, the challenges of getting political as an artist and why he sees his world as a part of something larger.
Ryan Pfluger: Until We Are All Free
Los Angeles photographer Ryan Pfluger’s new book Holding Space: Life and Love Through a Queer Lens is not only a rare documentation of couples being both queer and interracial, but an immensely moving piece of art.
Bruce Labruce: Disturbing Realities
Bruce LaBruce is a continuous art showcase and a reference for queer culture. From one project to the next, the artist, writer, filmmaker, photographer and director has always navigated different topics with a distinctive provocation.
uns*: Education As The Key For An Inclusive Industry
As the first exclusive LGBTQIA+ model and talent agency in the country, uns* has earned a place in the German market. Celebrating two years since their founders Cora Hamilton and Max Weiland started, they share perspectives about the challenges of the business and the relevance of having queer bodies in the industry.
Love Has No Label
Introducing our in-house Container Love film project, Love Has No Label, showing that no matter what, labels don't define us.
Love Finds A Way: The Premiere of Love Has No Label
The premiere of Container Love’s Love Has No Label editorial an evening to remember - find out more about it here.
Shayne: Living On A Spectrum
Love Has No Label tells the stories of four individuals and how they manage to remain true to themselves. This episode is about Shayne.
Isaak: Norms To Change
Love Has No Label tells the stories of four individuals and how they manage to remain true to themselves. This episode is about Isaak.
Chiderah: Not The Only Thing About Me
Love Has No Label tells the stories of four individuals and how they manage to remain true to themselves. This episode is about Chiderah.
Kate: The Time To Be Vulnerable
Love Has No Label tells the stories of four individuals and how they manage to remain true to themselves. This episode is about Kate.
The Hidden Dimension: Official Trailer
The Hidden Dimension is a portrait of queer photographer and visual artist Leo Maki. An intimate journey into the mind of the artist based in Warsaw, Poland. The film explores the creative process behind his work where sexuality, desire, and reality blends into art.
Jordan Blady: Comfort Zone
Comfort Zone is the latest short film by Paris-based director Jordan Blady, exploring the vibrant drag community in Tbilisi, Georgia, through the eyes of activist and performer Matt Shally.
Hannes Hirsch: Drifter
With a documentary-like sensibility, Hannes Hirsch’s feature-length debut sensitively depicts a new start in Berlin’s gay scene.
Valentino R. Sandoli: Transición
Valentino R. Sandoli directs Transición. Exploring the search for oneself, a sensitive masculinity where the body is a canvas of shapes. Shot in Madrid, Spain.
Faraz Shariat: Futur Drei
Faraz Shariat tells the story of the queer adolescence of an immigrant son in Germany providing a talking-back to conventional German cinema.
Leonie Krippendorff: Kokon
Kokon by Leonie Krippendorff is a film about wild girls who emancipate from the body images of social networks discovering who they want to be.
Visible Dinner: An Open Dialogue
Conversation is everything. Our aim with the #VisibleLove exhibition is to encourage people to take that first step toward each other, not only to speak, but to listen, to get the dialogue going.
Christian Ruess Of Container Love: Freedom Means No Fear
Knowledge means less fear and no fear means freedom – in a super special in-house interview, we asked Container Love’s Founder and Creative Director Christian Ruess about why most brands are misinterpreting diversity as a one-trick pony, the story behind our international #VisibleLove exhibition series and how finding the right partners at H&M could turn our simple idea into a global movement.
Visible Love At Mitte Garten: Love And Let Love
It’s the second year in a row for our #VisibleLove exhibition to have its official event at Berlin’s Mitte Garten, an open space in the middle of a buzzing downtown area where queer life and love are there for anyone to see.
Love Finds A Way: The Premiere of Love Has No Label
The premiere of Container Love’s Love Has No Label editorial an evening to remember - find out more about it here.
Visible Love 2021
Container Love celebrates 2021 Pride in Berlin's H&M Mitte Garten with our pop-up exhibition Visible Love.
Interzum Pop-Up Gallery
We were invited to pop-up gallery Interzum 2019, the world's largest trade fair for furniture production and interior design.
Container Love
Love Brands
Love Brands is a striking series of fashion editorials, curated and produced by Container Love. We believe in building up a community with brands supporting queer lifestyle, celebrating diversity and all identities, creating a safe space for everyone.
Photo Eduard Galià for FRNKOW
Jean Gritsfeldt: Fashion As A Statement
Love Brand Jean Gritsfeldt’s latest collection, Born in Kyiv. Sculptor of Love, made headlines all over the world when it made its debut at the Berlin Fashion Week. Shooting a selection of designs with Container Love, we could finally ask Jean to tell his extraordinary story of starting from scratch after leaving Ukraine, his commitment to environmentalism, and why each piece he creates should be a statement on its own.
Kust x Lovem: A Skin To Skin Story
Premium underwear brand Kust launches a new line of products in collaboration with skincare pioneer Lovem on a sustainable self-care routine which aims to transform the traditional approach to men’s health and beauty.
Swype Cosmetics: Play By Your Own Rules
Skin care that adapts to our lifestyle, not the other way around. Swype Cosmetics believes that we don't have to choose between flawless skin and a fast-paced lifestyle.
Máthé: Design Is Not An Individual Sport
Florian Máthé is a Berlin-based designer and performer specialising in latex as a medium of unapologetically queer and artistic expression.
Rich Mnisi: Celebrating Culture And Heritage
Introducing Hiya Kaya, the SS21 collection by designer Rich Mnisi – a contemporary, multi-disciplinary fashion brand based in South Africa.
Lukhanyo Mdingi: All Want To Be Seen, All Want To Be Heard
We asked Cape Town designer Lukhanyo Mdingi about his attitude towards colours and how he’s constantly reinventing his African heritage.
Ira Lupu: Documenting Homeland Under Attack
Ukrainian photographer Ira Lupu opens up about the implications of the war in her life and career, including her last documentary photo series Time of the Phoenix portraying her nation under attack. She shares with Container Love the decision behind going back to Ukraine under attack, and the ways that society has come together to protect their country, including having queer military units.
Jan Baszak: Sculpting Spaces
After a great reception of his last work “The Discomfort of Evening" Jan Baszak sits down with Container Love to talk about his approach to arts as a sculptor and a designer. The inspiration behind his creations and the ways of crafting space. The queer artist also shares his vision upon the current state of LGBTQIA+ rights in Poland and the political scenario.
Krystian Lipiec: Coming Home To You
Warsaw artist Krystian Lipiec’s story is one of personal growth, one that has been documented through his gorgeous imagery that he likes to refer to simply as beauty photography. In conversation with Container Love, he told us about the forests surrounding his mother’s house, his coming out, and how overcoming hesitation has changed his life forever.
Alex Huanfa Cheng: Leaving Wonderland
Paris-based photographer Alex Huanfa Cheng has been exploring and simultaneously pushing the boundaries of documentary photography all of his career. A beautiful clash of two worlds, he is using his experience in fashion to show everyday scenes from three continents and purify them until the point when there is nothing left of reality but a feeling.
Mehran Djojan: The Right To Live Shamelessly
For an extra special editorial, we asked some of our favorite photographers from all around the world to share a picture of theirs from the past year alongside some thoughts, their hopes and wishes for the next one. This is what they wrote.
Ryan Pfluger: Until We Are All Free
Los Angeles photographer Ryan Pfluger’s new book Holding Space: Life and Love Through a Queer Lens is not only a rare documentation of couples being both queer and interracial, but an immensely moving piece of art.
Container Talks: Finding Hope In New Role Models
A new generation of role models has grown up in an era of great societal changes and they are more colorful, more open-minded and – in a sense – more free than anyone who came before them. With our brand new editorial series, Container Talks, Container Love is now set to make their voices heard.
Yha Yha: Giving All Yha Love
We sat down with Yha Yha, otherwise known as Alyha Love, to discuss being an American DJ and big time socialite with Berlin as her new home.
Stallman Gallery: Nothing Linear
From the Stallman Gallery in Berlin, gallerist Lina Stallman and artist Daniel Spivakov show how art can trigger changes in society.
Lani Lees: Shining Like Gold
Coming from the creative field, Lani is the founder and designer of the sustainable and responsible jewellery brand, LANI LEES.
Zsá Zsá: Crossing Borders With Hyper-Femininity
Over the past few years, musician and actress Zsá Zsá has become a rising star among the wilder kids of Berlin. Find the exclusive here!
Charissa Chioccarelli: Nailing It
An all around talent, Charissa Chioccarelli of Isla Berlin was simply wonderful to work with when shooting her #ContainerTalks episode.
Container Love
Specials
Container Love’s Specials stand for curated editorials and interviews, celebrating special topics, in-house productions as well as collaborations with contemporary artists: a wide variety of projects tapping into the queer experience, approaching it in new, bold ways.
Photo Kostis Fokas
CONTAINER LOVE
Opinion
The space for our guest-writers and columnists, artists, activist, queer opinion-makers to share their thoughts and personal stories reflecting on relevant topics, broadening our horizons by discussing diversity and the freedom of love in our modern day society.
Painting Wojciech Wos
Cora Hamilton: Fit In Or Lose Out
For trans and gender non-conforming (gnc) models, the use of sample size means stamping out their “otherness” and fitting the cisgender mould, equating being cis to being better – Container Love guest author and co-founder of the exclusively LGBTQIA+ talent agency, uns* Cora Hamilton explains one of the fundamental flaws of the fashion industry and how it’s high time for some of its old rules to be rewritten.
Adam Munnings: Is This A Safe Space?
“Sometimes all we want is just to be, to exist in a space where we don’t have to explain, prove, justify or defend ourselves”, states film director Adam Munnings in a new guest collaboration opinion for Container Love. His interpretation of a safe space and how that translates into a club experience.
Ode To My Suit – A Transmasc Perspective About Masculinity In Fashion
In a personal piece, founder of LGBTQIA+ talent agency uns* and Container Love guest author Max Weiland tells about their liberating relationship with fashion as a transmasculine person and asks brands, especially suit manufacturers, some uncomfortable yet highly relevant questions.
There Are Bigger Problems In The World Than Two People Holding Hands
Holding hands in the street is not the same for a hetero couple than a queer one. We live in times where the LGBTQIA+ community has improved in rights and representation, but still way behind from a world that we all feel safe, even in the commonality of going out in the streets and loving publicly. Read our new opinion piece by Javier Zamora-Kalazich.
Top Surgery: More Than A Body
An intimate reflection of the post thoughts of a top surgery in the words of Drew Lor. Through his journey introduces questions and perspectives upon inhabiting our own bodies. From the discomfort to the shame, the inherited cultural expectations, and the navigation of finding your 'mobile-home' more truth and closer to yourself.
Wojciech Wos: Out Of The Blue
We love the way Berlin-based painter Wojciech Wos sees the world and how it all appears on his canvas as a big bold, colorful celebration of queer life.
Daniel Marin Medina: Loving Without Fear
The essence of Columbian painter Daniel Marin Medina and his work is undoubtedly simple, mapping sexuality through every brush stroke.
Wojciech Wos: Boys Make Me Sad Sometimes
The Polish artist Wojciech Wos told us about the magic of the last brushstrokes and moving to Berlin in the middle of a pandemic.
Daniel Marin Medina: Love Is Fucking Beautiful
In conversation with Container Love, the Colombian painter Daniel Marin Medina told us about his enthusiasm for the human body and mapping sexuality.
Bran Sólo: I Paint To Never Die
Spanish artist Bran Sólo defines himself as a painter, illustrator, designer and photographer as well as many things he never expected.
Wojciech Wos: I Paint Boys
Wojciech Wos is a visual artist from Poland based in Berlin, who shares with us not only his work, but also his personal diary – with the art of painting.
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