“I made the art and the art made me. A hobby turned into an obsession, that is how I got here.” -Serge

Los Angeles based artist Serge Serum first began making art as a way to deal with the stress and anxiety he was dealing with at the time. His obsessive behaviour lead him to start making these visceral and belligerent paintings that seem to really seize his anxieties and exhilarations. Being completely self taught has allowed him to create this unique raw style through his work and eventually carry that into photography.

His photographs embody unforgiving scenes that translate real and imaginative environments into a raw aesthetic. His latest photo series “Polished” focuses on the drag and queer scene in L.A. Serge has coincided with other artists, freaks, deviants and creatives to create this project. A lot of his photos have been taken at underground parties or queer clubs.

He recently has come out with a “Polished” photobook/zine where he has compiled some of his favourite photos along with some short stories from selected drag queens. Polished is the first of many volumes – he plans on making this an ongoing series and wants to take this photo series to New York and other cities in Europe.

Words & images by Serge Serum. Check out more of Serge’s work on Instagram or his website.