Jamal

Your Mirror: Portraits from the ICP Collection
Section: Self-presentation
The subjects of Gabriel Garcia Roman’s Queer Icons series, such as Fatima “Fat Femme” Jamal (b. 1990), an interdisciplinary artist and writer named one of the “coolest queers on the internet” by Teen Vogue, are elevated into the heroes the artist perceives them to be. Applying a chine-collé technique to the photogravure process, he transmutes his subjects—who are drawn from many facets of the gender and queer spectrum—into icons, dovetailing textured collage and photography into one-of-a-kind prints. Roman
uses religious iconography—a singular, centered figure on a colored background; sumptuous drapery; a halo; gold leaf; ornate, handmade frames—to transform his sitters
into deities worthy of devotion. He then invites his collaborators to contribute handwritten texts about their lives (often written with gold ink), further reinforcing their unique experiences.