Elska, a project dedicated to sharing the bodies and voices of LGBTQ communities around the world, has put the spotlight on Munich for its latest edition. Inside, readers can get to know a selection of ordinary men from this German city, introducing them through a combination of intimate photography and personal storytelling.
“Elska Munich is our forty-seventh issue and marks a long-overdue return to Germany, following Elska Berlin, which was our second issue,” says Elska editor and chief photographer Liam Campbell. „I knew we’d return to the country eventually, but I didn’t expect that Munich would become the target city. Many people had warned me that this was a stuffy town full of arrogant and conservative people, but perhaps it was because of this negativity that I felt inspired to come here and challenge these notions.“
“Luckily the stereotypes proved wrong and I can hardly think of a city or people as welcoming, friendly and bold” continues Liam. “I discovered such a spirit of enthusiasm from the men I met here to take part in my project, and this spurred me on to work harder than ever, meeting and photographing way more people than we could fit in an issue. That’s why we decided, for only the second time in Elska history, to publish two separate volumes from one city.”
Inside the two-volume ‘Elska Munich’ set, readers are introduced to seventeen ordinary men from Munich’s LGBTQ community. These participants were photographed in the streets of their city, showing their everyday style and everyday environment, and in their homes, revealing their diverse and beautiful bodies.
Then, to get to know these men and their city at an even more intimate level, each of the participants contributed a personal story on any topic of their choosing. Some of the stories here include: Dat N’s plea to treat older gay men with more respect and dignity, highlighting how often they are rendered invisible or even the object of contempt in some queer spaces; Dmytro S’s reflection on how he came to live in Germany from his native Ukraine, and how some of the little things that remind him of home and bring him comfort; Christoph H’s rediscovery of a love of football, and how joining a queer team reinvigorated his life and finally gave him a sense of true belonging; and Filip S’s text about trying to move on from an ex but finding their memory constantly making intrusions and halting him from properly moving on.
‘Elska Munich’ is published into two separate volumes of 164 pages each. They are available from a select group of shops around the world as well as for order online from the Elska website. In addition, the comparison zine ‘Elska Ekstra Munich’ is available, including three additional subjects as well as hundreds of pages of outtakes and behind the scenes tales. The list of stockists and details of the subscription service can also be found on the Elska website: www.elskamagazine.com.
