Inside Pillage, the Queer Sex Magazine With a Difference
“No projection, no idealisation, no censorship, and no filters”: Nicolas Santos and Benjamin Kirchhoff introduce their bold new publication
March 17, 2021
Lead ImageArtwork by Dan Kane, Courtesy of Pillage
Pillage is an LGBTQ+ magazine – but not as you know it. Launched in February, it’s described as being “by and for sex-positive types”, merging, as co-founder Nicolas Santos says, “independent media, new online realities and historical context”. And it really is: the publication is a blend of the indie fashion magazines you might find at Wardour News (RIP); the ways we might think about and express ourselves sexually these days, particularly in relation to the internet; and reference to and reverence for LGBTQ+ history.
anthony: berlin has a dark side. but you knew this. you don t have to look too hard. but renowned photographer miron zownir has been looking with a fixed gaze on people in the margins for decades. for over 40 years, he s worked diligently to capture the world s darker shades. its most marginalized people, the outsiders, the transgressive, the forgotten, the desperate and depraved. always in a non-judgmental, unblinking way. these are some of the shots we can put on tv. many we can t. i urge you to find them. you ve shot with a lot of hustlers, dope addicts, prostitutes how did you
approach your subjects? right up, right in, picture or do you establish a relationship? miron: it s always depending on the situation. some were not aware of me, others were exhibitionists. i had fights, but most of the time, i didn t have any problems because they were situations, i knew, okay, now i better retreat or i get my ass kicked. and i had a very good sense of how far you can go. anthony: in recent years, miron has been making films as well. shooting in abandoned spaces, celebrating all that is taboo, all that is wrong, all that is right about berlin. he restoreth my soul.