Self-portrait, August 2021
Daniel Eugene is a visual artist, poet, musician, performer and photographer from Bethany, Connecticut. Eugene concerns himself with creative expression as a catalyst for the evolution of human
consciousness; exploring how
the individual relates to our shared humanity and how this shared humanity exists in relationship to the
greater reality of an infinite cosmos.
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For the past several years, I have focused on photographing two distinct cultures—drag performance and grassroots stock car racing. As a youth, I raced quarter midget race cars and have been a lifelong spectator at local tracks, including Stafford Motor Speedway and Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park. In 2015, I began pursuing documentary photography as a serious creative endeavor and this transformed my experience at the racetrack.
In 2016 I started frequenting drag performances in New Haven, Connecticut, particularly New Haven's premier gay nightclub Partners Café. As I deepened my relationships to both communities I began to see a remarkable connection; rebellion, flamboyance, freedom, and pride were all common themes connecting the two seemingly disparate worlds.
In 2018,
I began my own drag performance career as Sorcia Warhol, further
deepening my relationship to the art form and expanding my role as
documentarian to include candid and intimate moments behind the scenes.
Immersion within both cultures from both sides of the lens, as photographer/drag queen and photographer/racecar driver, gains me the unique vantage point of seeing two worlds that rarely, if ever, have been held inside one persons experience. This yields an exceptional photographic document but more importantly gives evidence to an extravagant but deeply human element that reigns in both places. Being able to experience both communities in empathetic light and understanding reveals a path towards commonality that if followed might lead to greater understanding and mutual respect.
Photo-books designed and published by Daniel Eugene:
NHVdrag: Volume 1, Partners Café, 2017
New Haven Photographs: A Future History, 2018