Christian

Elska Magazine devotes its latest issue to men from Pittsburgh. The bi-monthly magazine features photographs of queer men, along with their stories. Elska, which means ‘love’ in Icelandic, is the project of artist Liam Campbell. QueerPGH chatted with Campbell about his work and impressions of our city, and got to see some smoking-hot pictures to boot!

QueerPGH: Tell us a bit about yourself.

Liam Campbell: My name’s Liam Campbell (he/him/his). I was born in the USA but lived most of my life in London, and returned just a couple of years ago to get to know this country better. I studied photography at college but ended up doing a lot of ‘proper’ jobs until I finally had enough and decided to give art a go. So far, so good.

QueerPGH: We hope that continues! What is Elska Magazine?

Campbell: Elska is a project I’ve been doing over the past four years where I go to difference cities all around the world and then meet and photograph local guys. My mission is in part to show that queer life exists everywhere and also that beauty is not what mainstream LGBTQ media tends to define as young, muscled, white, and famous. This isn’t a political gimmick but it’s how I genuinely see things and I think that by presenting different kinds of people in a beautiful and honest way that others will see it my way too.

Ricky

QueerPGH: What drew you to Pittsburgh?

Campbell: Over the years I got several DMs and letters from people saying I should take Elska to Pittsburgh, but honestly I kind of ignored them because I really knew nothing about Pittsburgh except that Sharon Needles came from there. However, several months ago I got a really passionate love story of a letter about Pittsburgh from a guy called Ricky and he made me pay attention. A few days later I spoke to the people at Ace Hotel Pittsburgh and they offered to help sponsor my visit, and so after that I decided to check the place out.

Jerome

QueerPGH: What did you learn about Pittsburgh through this project?

Campbell: I hope I don’t cause offense with this, but I have been brought up with a really European / UK perspective that tends to think of the middle of the USA as full of MAGA hat-wearing deplorables. Coming to the city proved how wrong I was. I’m not sure about the region overall but certainly Pittsburgh is an oasis of open-mindedness that I instantly felt welcome in. But I should say that I didn’t feel welcome in a sort of Berlin / London / San Francisco way, because it was better than that. A lot of liberal cities are so hipster about their openness that they become exclusionary, but Pittsburgh felt truly genuine to me.

Tom

QueerPGH: We’re so glad to hear that! What are some highlights from the shoots in Pittsburgh?

Campbell: One highlight was meeting a guy called Christian, who I met along with his two mums who grilled me like I was taking their precious only son on a date or something. It was terrifying and hilarious.

Another was a guy called Will who I melted over. There was just something about him that I crushed completely over. He invited me out for a drink later and I had to make up an excuse because I was too scared I’d flirt and make a fool of myself.

I also can’t forget a guy called Tom who was kind of a celebrity to me. He hosts a podcast called ‘It Bears Repeating’ that I’ve been a longtime fan of, and meeting him in the flesh, putting a voice to a body, was so intimidating at first. He turned out to be really lovely though and I’m hoping we’ll build a friendship.

QueerPGH: How are the models/storytellers chosen?

Campbell: Generally what happens is that I put out social media announcements a month before coming to a city and then fill up my schedule on a first-come, first-served basis with those who get in touch. That way I don’t actually have to scout for anyone and I don’t have to reject anyone. With Pittsburgh, I did it a little differently, which was to first directly invite that guy Ricky Moslen who wrote the passionate ‘please come to Pittsburgh’ letter. He then told some friends about the project, and they told some friends, so a handful of the guys here are probably at least acquaintances of Ricky. I also messaged a few randomly on gay apps like Hornet to fill in the few gaps I had left.

Eli

QueerPGH: Why is it important to focus on everyday men rather than models and celebrities?

Campbell: I don’t have a problem with models or celebrities per se, and these people are totally welcome to take part in Elska if they want to. My issue is that I don’t want to privilege anyone, I want to present everyone equally. That being said, I find celebrity culture quite boring. I’d much rather read a story about a someone’s recent blind date gone-wrong than some aspiring actor’s story about believing in oneself and reaching for the stars. I am interested in real people, even if their writing abilities aren’t perfect or their bodies aren’t ‘perfect’. Perfect is boring.

QueerPGH: How can people get a copy of the Pittsburgh issue of Elska?

Campbell: Elska’s sold in around forty shops around the world, but sadly nowhere in Pittsburgh as of yet. You can however order a copy from elskamagazine.com.