8.5x11” soft cover, perfect-bound book with 36 portraits from “Perennial Beauty,” a series of Queer Portraiture by Mario Elías.

“The Queer Community is a Garden of many colors. With this series, I wanted to present Queer individuals of all gender expressions, races, ethnicities, and sexual identities as the subject of royal portraiture. Celebrating what makes us unique as individuals with the people that make us feel a little less "different" in the world is what makes our community so strong and resilient.

Each person was prompted to summon a feeling of Pride; how they interpreted this in their dress and poses was up to them. Some wanted to seem relaxed, others commanding. Some wanted to highlight certain things they once saw as flaws, and some wanted to include small nods to their family. When creating each scene, I wanted to make sure to include a natural element; it is so important to remember that no matter how we look or present ourselves, we are who we are... Our identities are our natural expression of ourselves.

For something to be considered "perennial," it must be undying, ceaseless, enduring, persistent, recurring for a seemingly infinite amount of time... Much like perennial flowers, we may get stomped on, wither in hard times, be neglected or over-pruned, but we will always grow back fuller and more beautiful than the year before.
We are Queer. We are Perennial Beauties.”