Homosexuality has been considered a penal crime in China until 1997. Only in 2001 it has been removed from the list of mental illnesses, but still many psychologist treat it as a depression. Between 2015 and 2016 a gay couple filed a lawsuit against the government, as the law was preventing them from getting married. They eventually lost, but being allowed to file such a lawsuit means that the times are changing. Nevertheless the airing of a TV series touching LGBT topics has been forbidden, lately. These pictures of Beijing's LGBT youths have been shot in a dark room, with my subjects illuminated by a spotlight. I asked them to tell me the stories of their lives, to create empathy and make them relax in front of the lens. The result is a series of intimate portraits, each one telling a different side of this hidden part of Chinese society.
