“We Are Family”, fits into the Homecoming cycle by offering a glimpse into a queer family built through desire and kinship, and held together by love and a camera, Raeli’s, that never stops clicking. In the wake of references such as Nan Goldin, Ryan McGinley, and Olivia Bee, the artist chronicles his friends, loves, sorrows, and his city with an intimate and passionate gaze. A compulsive photographer for more than a decade (and only 29 years old), Raeli takes the autobiographical dimension to a universal plane, recounting love in one’s twenties but also an idea of family that defies all preconceived notions: one loves those one chooses, one loves those who look like us, one loves those who are able to understand our frailties in the chaos of the world, one loves those who are able to embrace our changes, beyond any blood ties, social convention or contract. One loves no matter what gender identity we identify with and no matter what “should be” is imposed on us, because love can be born anywhere-perhaps under a sky of artificial stars in the Capaci amusement park or in a last swim, at night, in the sea of Mondello – and it can last forever, or for the time of a kiss.
