A new exhibition at Soft Opening in London presents Dean Sameshima's "Wonderland" series, photographs taken in the mid-1990s that document the exteriors of queer sex clubs and bathhouses in Los Angeles's Silver Lake neighborhood. The images, shot in a stark, formal style during daylight, capture the unremarkable facades of these clandestine spaces, with only descriptive titles hinting at the activities within.
The exhibition matters as a poignant historical document of a specific community and moment, shaped by the AIDS crisis and the threat of police raids. Sameshima's work serves as both a memorial to lost spaces and a subtle act of resistance, preserving the memory of these essential, yet hidden, safe havens while commenting on the politics of visibility and anonymity for queer life in the 1990s.