At One Width by Sam Sutton

For the past 18 months, photographer Sam Sutton has been travelling the United Kingdom to interview and photograph people who have experienced so-called “conversion therapy,” a term that refers to any practice attempting to redefine a person’s sexuality or gender identity. While reports on the prevalence of conversion therapy vary, a 2018 government report estimated that 7% of LGBTQ+ individuals in the UK have been offered or have undergone practices of this nature.

Sam’s work depicts the variety of ways in which people are introduced to conversion therapy. Through personal interviews, they relay the stories of those who have been subjected to these harmful practices; one individual describes how they had attended a school where Accelerated Christian Education textbooks promoted homophobic rhetoric, including notions that “homosexuals are fundamentally unhappy” and that “gay people are not normal”. As an environment charged with these beliefs, the school had developed a culture of punishing students who displayed “homosexual behavior” and attempted to “rectify” their actions.

Another person spoke about their experience of expressing their gender-non-conforming feelings to their pastor. The pastor referred them to the newly formed UK branch of an American organization that encourages individuals to “leave the LGBTQ lifestyle”.

The selection of photographs displayed here have been collated as a photobook and are due to be published later this year, under the title At One Width. Sam describes the work as an extended search for the metaphorical. While the imagery portrays the individuals that they have photographed alongside places where conversion therapy is known to have taken place, the remaining work is a visualisation of conversations with those who have had their queerness redefined by others.

To learn more about the project, follow Sam @samsutton26 or browse their website.