boyz
the erotics of exile — after Magdalena J. Zaborowska, James Baldwin's Turkish Decade: Erotics of Exile
As a kid, the worst word they could call me was "girl" — because being a girl was supposed to be shameful.
For most of my life, I was afraid of men.
These are the boyz I met in exile — friends, lovers, boyfriends, comrades — who taught me boys could be tender, and loving, and like me.
For a long time I kept the camera between us; it was how I got close, and how I hid. I hide no more.
boyz is an archive far away from home — 102 polaroids, 11 large-format 35mm photo prints + a projection of cell phone photos and videos of boys held in the safety of being seen. more than a decade of the men i've felt most intimate and safe with.
35mm large format prints are available in editions of 3, various sizes.
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opening — friday, july 3, 2026, 8–11pm
after — by appointment through august 9, 2026
make an appointment
where — arts district, los angeles · basement gallery
make an appointment to get the address
getting there
parking is limited, so public transit or rideshare if you can.
access — the gallery is a basement floor, low light throughout, and not wheelchair-accessible (down a flight of stairs). if you have access needs, reach out, and i'll do what i can.
zaf zaf is a Turkish-born photographer and filmmaker. He decided to leave Istanbul after being shot by a police rubber bullet at the city's Pride march in 2015, and (long jump) now lives and works in Los Angeles. Alongside more than a decade building queer and documentary film culture across Istanbul, New Orleans, and Los Angeles, he has kept a parallel practice in 35mm and instant film — an intimate, unsparing portraiture of the people closest to him. boyz is his first solo exhibition.