koitz – Fire Island

L'Œil de la Photographie

In this feature for the internationally acclaimed photography journal L'Œil de la Photographie, koitz reflects on his long relationship with Fire Island and the evolution of a project that began without a defined purpose and gradually became an important visual chronicle of queer life.

Guy in his underwear on gay Fire Island | koitz photographyA man in his underwear on Fire Island, photographed by koitz, documenting gay Fire Island culture, LGBTQ+ life, freedom, beach culture, and the social atmosphere of Cherry Grove and Fire Island Pines.

Accompanied by the artist's own text, the article explores how years of photographing Cherry Grove and Fire Island Pines led to a deeply personal body of work celebrating freedom, community, and belonging. Rather than a planned documentary, Fire Island emerged organically as an archive of lived experience and a testament to one of the world's most enduring LGBTQ+ cultural landscapes.

Check it out here.