This is Where I Long To Be (la isla bonita)

The place depicted in this series is a mental territory. I drew free inspiration from a real-world location—the Canary Islands—which I have been returning to for 15 years.

To me, it is one of the most inspiring places for imagining an ideal territory and a queer future: a utopian space that is more deeply connected to nature, freer, and more fluid.  

For one, these islands are particularly welcoming to the LGBTQ+ community.  
They also cultivate a "camp" sensibility—in the sense defined by Susan Sontag—characterized by a love for "artifice and exaggeration." For instance, they are home to one of the world’s most significant carnival traditions, which spans several months across the archipelago and focuses largely on the subversion of gender norms and religious order. 
Furthermore, the rise of mass tourism since the 1960s has led to extreme experiments—often resulting in ecological aberrations—that the local population is now working to put an end to. The Canary Islands are thus scattered with abandoned commercial structures, stripped of their original purpose; they resemble archaeological ruins, signaling the potential for a new era to emerge.  

With its volcanic geology, the archipelago seems to harbor an inherent instability. While it may appear barre & sterile, it is actually full of diversity, vibrant cultures, and it has an extraordinary capacity for reinvention.