Kirk Lorenzo is a Queer, Dominican-American artist from the Bronx, NY (Wappinger/Lenape territory), based in San Francisco, CA (Ohlone territory). As a Leatherman and active practitioner of BDSM/Leather for over a decade, Kirk navigates the intersections of the Dominican diaspora, queerness, and Leather culture. These identities serve as sources of solace and lenses through which he interprets his traumas and experiences.

Kirk’s work begins with his immediate, intimate gay community—partners, lovers, and metamours. It then extends to his friends, chosen family, surrounding queer community, change makers, and community pillars. Through this relationality, he seeks to contextualize their histories, diasporas, and enduring significance within the fabric of American history. His work aims to candidly archive queer leatherfolk, kink practitioners, and polyamorous individuals who have built, sustained, and continue to shape these vibrant and resilient communities.

Parallel to his work, Kirk envisions an America guided by trauma-informed perspectives that interrogates the cultures and systems we uphold while fostering empathy for why we crave solace within them. To him, BDSM/Leather culture reflects a paradox: it both mirrors and subverts traumas and legacies of colonialism. Its practices, dynamics, and aesthetics echo histories of struggle and subjugation, transforming them into acts of intimacy, exploration, catharsis, and solace. For Kirk, this transformation is a reclamation—an assertion of agency over our bodies and desires that allows us to process these legacies and actively challenge their grasp on our autonomy.

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