DANIEL JACK LYONS

Name: Daniel Jack Lyons
Age: 38
Birthplace: Laguna Beach, USA
Home: Los Angeles, USA
Discipline: Photography

Where do you come from and how did you start to do photography?

I’m originally from California and a total surf, skate-punk cliché, but I moved to Mozambique in 2005. I lived there for a few years before going to New York City. Initially, I went to art school at a university in Northern California, but I dropped out, because I was more interested in social justice and radical queer activism. I worked with groups like Gay Shame and Radical Fairies in San Francisco before relocating to Mozambique, where I primarily worked within HIV prevention and disease treatment. Photography was my creative outlet and eventually inspired me to move to New York City, where I continued to consult on international human rights projects. My time spent working in small communities within a human rights framework has had a major impact on how I approach my photographic practice.

What are the main topics you deal with in your work?

My work operates within the context of queer and environmental justice, often filtered through perspectives of youth and counterculture.

How do you define your artistic search and practice in three words?

Honest. Positive. Intimate.

Which techniques do you use to create?

I like analog cameras and printing methods.

How do you consider your work in relation to current societal issues?

Societal issues sit at the center of my work, and, at the same time, they drive and inform my practice as an artist.

What kind of approach towards ‘aesthetics’ does your work provide?

I would say aesthetics immersed in the colors of my dreams.

What kind of beauty does your work focus on?

I like to find joy in contexts that otherwise might seem dire.

What does being an artist mean in your opinion today?

As far as I’m concerned, being an artist within our current climate bears the responsibility of speaking a visual language that opens new discourses and ultimately contributes to an evolution toward a better tomorrow.

What is the message you want to deliver with your work?

I just want people to respond to my work the same way they respond to getting good news.

MARK MANDERS

SICK GIRL