WAKEFIELD.- The Art House welcomes internationally renowned artist Sunil Gupta to present a solo project in Yorkshire for the very first time.

The exhibition revisits Gupta’s significant project, Lovers: Ten Years On which he first began in 1984 to reframe the lives of gay couples and challenge commercial stereotypes in visual culture. Approaching a milestone 40th anniversary, the artist presents a selection of the original series, alongside brand-new large-scale photographs shown for the very first time, for the premiere of Lovers, Revisited, made with artist collaborator, and husband, Charan Singh.

With a career spanning more than four decades, Gupta has maintained a visionary approach to photography, producing work that is pioneering in social and political commentary. The importance of giving space to Lovers: Ten Years On extends beyond its significance as it stood in the 1980s, by creating a thought-provoking opportunity to reconsider its positioning in today’s society.

Lovers, Revisited premieres new portraits made in collaboration with artist Charan Singh. Gupta and Singh are both recognised for their distinctive style and approach to photography. Recently their practices came together creating exciting dialogues between their work. As an extension to the original project, Gupta and Singh have created large-scale digital colour works by using the same camera lens. They document couples today, from all over the world, as well as reshooting one of the participants from the original series.

Gupta moved to the UK in the late 1970s during a time when the Gay Movement was gaining momentum and challenging the idea that “homosexuality” was a mental disorder. Gupta has always focused on representation and racial sensibilities, being politically driven in both gay and multicultural activism and later Aids/HIV activism. In 1984, he began creating portraits to reframe the lives of LGBT+ couples in response to challenging stereotypes in visual culture, which often depicted the community as exclusively promiscuous sexual beings. Set within domestic environments, Gupta created narratives and identities which, at that time, were unseen or not breaking through.

However, the arrival of AIDS/HIV [HIV was first termed in 1986] had a drastic impact on the community. This was not just due to the virus itself, but also because of society’s response, which was fuelled by vicious campaigns in the media to label queer people as sick and irresponsible.

The timing for this project goes beyond a celebration of the original series’ milestone. It is a reminder of the past struggle and ongoing importance of visibility for queer communities at a time where the UK grows less safe for LGBTQIA+ people – which is why this body of work can act as a pillar for connection with communities and discussions on representation and politics of visibility.