Love Is (Hate)
2026
2026
Two men touch but cannot meet each other's eyes. The rainbow colours of the original pride flag overlay the photograph — celebration and constraint in the same frame. Stitched across the surface, the phrase Love Is remains deliberately unfinished; beneath it, almost hidden, the word HATE persists in the threads. The work doesn't argue that hatred underlies acceptance so much as it makes that persistence visible — the way prejudice doesn't disappear but goes quiet, waiting beneath the slogans and the rainbow affirmations. The legacy of homophobia is still felt in the body. This piece asks what it means to love inside that inheritance.
The models are Pat Burnham and Kenny Owens, photographed by the Western Photography Guild. Gilbert Baker created the rainbow flag for the San Francisco Gay Freedom Day Parade; the eight-stripe version debuted on June 25, 1978.
Each finished piece in The Queer Thread collection is approximately 5" x 7" (12.7 cm x 17.8 cm). The vintage photograph is transferred to dense weave cotton and embroidered with cotton and Japanese gold thread. The image is mounted on art board and floated in an 8" x 10" (20.3 cm x 25.4 cm) black frame. Please contact Paul for pricing and availability.
