Botanical Desires: An Erotic Illustration Series Hidden in Plain Sight

 

Look closely. No, closer. These aren't just plants — they're a garden of secrets. This series of illustrations plays with the art of negative space: what you see is flora, what you feel is something else entirely. Inspired by the queer tradition of hiding desire in plain sight, each piece uses the emptiness between leaves, stems, and petals to conjure erotic forms — visible only to those who dare to look a little longer.

Part botanical study, part liberation, part visual whisper — this is art that blooms differently for everyone who encounters it. Perfect for lovers of LGBTQ+ art, erotic illustration, conceptual drawing, and the beautiful places where nature and desire meet.

Video / Strangelfreak: A 20-Year Queer Photography Retrospective at House of Q, Stockholm

20 Years of Queer Lives is a photography retrospective by Strangelfreak (Luis Pedro de Castro), documenting two decades of non-heteronormative life, queer identity, and community. 

Developed in partnership with Transpond.se and House of Q in Stockholm, Sweden, this exhibition marks a milestone in queer documentary photography — and a first for House of Q, which invited Strangelfreak as its inaugural exhibiting artist.

The work spans 20 years of intimate portraiture and documentary photography, capturing queer bodies, performance culture, and the diversity of LGBTQ+ experience across Europe.

Strangelfreak: A 20-Year Queer Photography Retrospective at House of Q, Stockholm

In collaboration with Transpond and House of Q, I had the honour of being invited as the first artist to present a retrospective spanning 20 years of queer photography — two decades of documenting non-heteronormative life, gender fluid expression, and the raw, unfiltered intimacy of the people who make up my world.

Walking into the expansive venue, my mind filled with possibilities. What you see in these walls is not a curated fantasy of LGBTQ+ life — it is something far more personal. These are photographs of friends. Real people who opened the window to their private lives and allowed me to recreate a prejudice-free perspective on what it means to exist outside of heteronormative constructs.

Born in Portugal and based in Barcelona for over two decades, my work has always lived at the intersection of sexuality, spirituality, and identity. Studying photography in Barcelona led me deep into the world of gender fluid identities, post-porn theory, and queer performance culture. I began processing my images with digital manipulation inspired by Renaissance painting — not to beautify or sanitise, but to elevate. To take what society so often labels deviant and transform it into something closer to the divine.

"From a distance, SEX is just another word for Spirituality."

This retrospective at House of Q in Stockholm brings together work that spans queer art from Barcelona and beyond — photographs that celebrate individuality, challenge gender norms, and refuse to apologise for existing. To show this body of work in Stockholm, a city with such a vibrant queer culture and LGBTQ+ community, felt like a profound privilege. Barcelona and Stockholm share more than a twinned status — they share a fierce, ongoing commitment to queer visibility and Pride.

My hope is that this exhibition inspires others — wherever they are in the world — to celebrate their own identity, to see beauty in difference, and to understand that "Normality is an excuse for the unimaginative."

The exhibition is still on view. Below are some photos from the space.

Saint Lucia Market @House Of Q - Stockholm -Sweden

 

“WE DO NOT EXPECT PERFECTION.

WE EXPECT INTEGRITY & INTENTION.”

This is the motto for the inclusive new space, that opened up in Stockholm in Malmvägen 1 .

Perfectly summed up in their About section 

"HOUSE OF Q is a queer cultural house and social venue in Stockholm. It is a place created for connection, creativity, and presence beyond single events or seasons.

The House brings together food, art, music, conversations, and community hangouts under one roof.

By day, it functions as a welcoming restaurant, café, workspace and community space.

By night, it transforms into a space for performances, exhibitions, talks, community nights, and celebrations."

 I had the privilege of being invited to be part of the first ever art market at the inspirational new venue for queer people near the city centre. 

Here are some snip-its:

Europride 2022 in Belgrade - Serbia

 As part of the collective exhibition organized by 
Transpond and Unstraight Museum from Sweden,
 I was invited to show my work at Europride 2022 in Belgrade, Serbia.

Here are some photos of the preparations for the exhibition at the 
Belgrade Youth Centre.

It was a privilege to be able to share my work with the community

 and have the Prime Minister of Serbia Ana Brnabic

 presiding over the opening ceremony there.

Thank you so much to all that came to support and 

the amazing array of local artists

 that were the best tour guides ever!

Orgullo 2016

Own Spirit Festival 2016

Munich Airport

Rafa

Cruising

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