Heav3n is very much a place on earth, and its home is in the US of A…LA to be exact. It‘s a community, a group, a collective of performers, singers, dancers, all actors in the theatre of life. The cabaret of existence. Together – including their audience of followers – they perform a showcase of the meaningful absurd which twists and turns the highlights of American pop culture icon. Superheroes or supervillains party at a concert that creates a valid reflection of today‘s youth Zeitgeist. It ain‘t pretty, it’s fucking fabulous.
There’s a hint of danger in our shoot of actor, singer, songwriter Deacon Phillippe. And that’s the way it should be in the year he turns 20. A new decade deserves a reboot. Ditch the teenage angst, and repurpose that energy with a knowing sensuality. Having had real success with both his music and acting, there’s plenty of time to deepen and expand what he’s already doing, or to forge something new. There’s a refreshing openness about acknowledging his cinematic heritage. Theres’s everything to play for when you use what you’ve got in the right way in his bold and most fearless shoot to date…
Explore the American Dream through the skateboarding skills of entrepreneur Tyshawn Jones. Born in the Bronx with New York as his playground, Tyshawn at 24 has achieved the heights in not just skateboarding as a sport, but expanding it into a cultural form. It’s a way of life – much more than mere lifestyle – and also a way of dressing. His own clothing range Hardies sets the pace of his style. He once said, he used skateboarding as a relief from loneliness, well this photo shoot shows him alone, relaxed, and supremely at home with the world.
Grammy award nominee singer Omar Apollo is a great example of the cultural blender which is the USA – he was born to Mexican parents, and grew up in Indiana. His musical heritage has many roots and his appeal global. Our photoshoot references the strength of Tom of Finland, the complexity of Fassbinder, both expertly blended in the United States. A mix of hot cool and longing filtered and enhanced by the artist’s lens. After all leather is a second skin, a protection, communicating both keep your distance and come hither. We’re all voyeurs, watching him change outfits – material masculinity in every sensual and consensual sense. Gay iconography repurposed for the modern male gaze.