physician and worked for several years in medical practice before studying photography at the Elam School of Fine Arts in Auckland and Massey University in Wellington. He graduated with a BFA in 2004 and went on to complete an MFA in 2014. Mark’s work sits at the intersection of documentary, portraiture and social history and is concerned with questions of identity, belonging and the lifelong quest for intimacy. His photographs have been exhibited in New Zealand and overseas. A Queer Existence is in many ways a sequel to his earlier book, Men Alone — Men Together, which explored the lives and relationships of an older generation of gay men who grew up in the pre-Law Reform era. Mark lives in Wellington with his partner Ross and a small collection of antique cameras and typewriters. On Friday evenings they have but a short walk down the hill to the Garage Project’s taproom on Aro Street. Most of the photographs in this book were shot on a Rolleiflex 3.5F dating from the early 1970s.
Gay New Zealand men born after the passing of the Homosexual Law Reform Act in 1986 have had very different life experiences than earlier generations, and legislation since then has made life less discriminatory. Even so, many continue to feel stigmatised, and for some coming out remains a major hurdle. Candid, powerful and affecting, the 27 first-person narratives of A Queer Existence are a unique insight into how gay men continue to have to step out of the mainstream and face their own challenges as they forge their queer identities.
A Queer Existence
Mark Beehre initially trained as a specialist
A Queer Existence The lives of young gay men in Aotearoa New Zealand
Mark Beehre
The lives of young gay men in Aotearoa New Zealand ddddd3ddddddddddddddddd
Mark Beehre
d dddddd dddddd
SAMPLE QueerExistence_JACKET.indd All Pages
16/04/21 4:31 PM