Sign of our times: A photo diary that captures love in the LGBTQiA+ community through sign language

A scene from the video, Our Own Galaxy. Pic Courtesy/Youtube

While Pride Month has launched every brand into a possible overdrive of love and compassion for the community, the struggle for identity and inclusivity continues. Even as the community is finding representation in the visual grammar across mediums, some expressions stand out for their unique approach.

Monishaa Ajgaonkar started The Photo Diary in 2014 as a means to capture the lives and love-stories of people, including the LGBTQiA+ community. "The idea was to help the community through our stories and not to create something that went viral," the activist-photographer tells us. Her latest video project, Our Own Galaxy, tells the story of two women confessing their love through sign language and music.

Monishaa Ajgaonkar

The video tells the story of the couple, preparing for a long-distance relationship, and imagining being together in their own separate galaxy. The idea was born from a need to portray a subset within the community, she tells us. "While there are a number of shows on the deaf community, we thought of portraying it as part of the story since their presence is something that is not spoken about." Luckily, one of the models in the video had a friend from the deaf community. "He helped us with the key expressions of sign language, and the subtitling to follow in the video," she revealed. The language itself was a beautiful addition to the story of the community, she adds.

Her team of friends, designer Mayuri Nivekar, visualiser Nivesh Jain and 20-year-old Shubham Soni formed the core team. Shot in September during the pandemic last year, the video was delayed. "Our editor was in the first year of college and had his exams," she laughs.

"Such efforts would not happen last year or before that. Things have evolved, but it is going to take time and will only get better," she notes of the growing awareness on social media among brands.
Despite her own struggles, the photographer seeks to portray the community's resilience and positive spirit. "Not everything has to be tragic," she says adding, "I would not want to be a sorry character that thrives on pity. In the end, you have to stand for yourself."

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