Oskar at sunset, from the portfolio Every Breath We Drew

This work was part of Looking 101, a 2022 exhibition that supported Northwestern University’s undergraduate curriculum with an emphasis on first-year students. The following text was made available in the exhibition via cell phone camera (QR code) and booklet:

Photographer Jess T. Dugan has developed a body of work over a period of 15 years that is focused on portraits of their community, including many LGBTQ and gender nonconforming individuals. Describing this focus, they have shared, “from a very young age I felt compelled to make images of queer people, including myself, that were as nuanced and complex and beautiful as I knew these individuals to be.” Oskar at Sunset is part of a series titled Every Breath We Drew, which includes portraits of people whose gender expression falls along the spectrum of the masculine—including self-portraits of the artist (below, right)— as well as still lifes and interior scenes (below, left). Of the series, Dugan has stated: By asking others to be vulnerable with me through the act of being photographed, I am laying claim to what I find beautiful and powerful while asking larger questions about how identity is formed, desire is expressed, and intimate connection is sought.4