Luca Varano's Queer Landscapes: Cruising in America East & West

Luca Varano, a photographer who hails from New Jersey but now lives in Los Angeles, is exploring queer memory through his project called 'Cruising in America: East & West.' This series examines how public homosexual intimacy is shaped by factors like anonymity, risk, and community. Varano uses black-and-white photography to create images that blur the lines between past and present, focusing on textures and shadows instead of colors. The series is divided into two parts: 'Cruising in the East' looks at suburban areas, parked cars, and industrial sites related to adolescence and identity, while 'Cruising in the West' investigates California's deserts, questioning the myths of the American frontier. He doesn’t directly capture current users; instead, he uses collaborative reenactments to suggest presence while keeping identities hidden. Varano’s approach combines documentary styles with staged scenes, presenting landscapes as cultural memories and the body as a representation of existence. He earned his BFA in Photography at the Rhode Island School of Design.