Widened Harfleetbymalcstone

Pansy Mouth

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In 2011 Paul Harfleet was approached by photographer Malc Stone, who wanted to capture the essence of The Pansy Project in a portrait. They discussed how to communicate the core of the work in an image, it was Malc who suggested placing a pansy in Paul’s mouth (image top). Abusive comments are spoken or shouted; this gesture redirects that site of expression. There is humour in these portraits. The pansy, held in the mouth, can be read as a dummy or pacifier, an object that interrupts speech and borders on the absurd. It points to the absurdity of homophobia and transphobia themselves, which continue to persist without receding.
 
This photographic gesture has become a recognisable motif within the work. In 2015, during the production of Les Pensées de Paul by Bangumi for CANAL+, Paul suggested the same method to the team as a way of extending the image beyond their own portrait. Photographer Xavier Lahache went on to capture Paul Harfleet and the participants and a number of public figures, including Anggun and Antoine de Caunes. The gesture shifted from a personal device to a shared one, taken up by others in support of the film’s challenge.
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“I have returned to this image repeatedly, using self-portraiture to trace the duration of The Pansy Project, both personally and politically. I’ve reworked the gesture in subtly different ways through styling, lighting and the occasional use of make-up. Across these images, I register the passing of time on my face and the growing silver in my hair. The Pansy Project maps incidents of violence in public space; these portraits chart a parallel timeline on the body. They speak to the longevity of this work and to a continued commitment to challenging the realities of the violence it marks. I show myself here as the founder of the project: a queer man, visible, determined and aging.”

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Antoine de Caunes. Photograph by Xavier Lahache 
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Maïtena Biraben. Photograph by Xavier Lahache 
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Yann Barthès. Photograph by Xavier Lahache 
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Anggun. Photograph by Xavier Lahache 
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Jean-Baptiste Erreca. Photograph by Xavier Lahache 
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Kim Wilde. By Kim Wilde

The photographs above and below capture some of the luminaries that have supported The Pansy Project. Largely during the making of Les Pensées de Paul. Kim Wilde kindly contributed to a ‘PUT A PANSY IN IT’ campaign, an early example of merchandise.

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On Screen