Photographer Bart Heinen travels across the United States to take intimate photos of gay men and their children. “Baby and dad looks and faces are there – a mix of curiosity and pride,” says Martin Parr, reflecting on Bart Heine’s portrait of gay fathers and their children.
Heinen travels the country to describe more than 40 American families and to provide insight into the upbringing of gay men. Fathers, published by powerHouse Books, is a work that excites human interest and allows us to look at family life differently.
From couples posing in affluent, design-centric Manhattan homes to families whose babies are carried by their grandmothers on their aunt’s eggs because surrogacy costs are unaffordable. The beautiful images compiled by Belgian photographers mark a new era for gay people in America. Since gay marriage became legal in 2015, there has been a baby boom in the country’s gay community.
“Through adoption or the help of surrogate mothers and egg donors, they can achieve their dreams and start a family,” the book’s editors said in a statement. Father is a testament to the words of Harvey Fierstein, who asserted: “Love, commitment and family are not heterosexual experiences, not heterosexual words, they are human words and belong to everyone.”
In what follows, Bart Heinen walks us through a selection of dad’s favorite portraits and shares his memories and anecdotes from his unforgettable family time. Bart Heinen Photography
“I filmed Txema and Pablo in their hospital room next to the space of the surrogate mother who had just given birth to her son. The photo had their heads in it but I decided to crop it out and focus on the breasts, arms and baby breasts. No distractions – the image on the face. There’s no, way to misinterpret the content.
The touch of the hands and the hair on the chest confirms everything. These are two dads holding their baby. I usually never crop my photos, but this photo has grown over time. I love white skin over pink; baby hair versus chest hair” – Bart Heinen.