Lead CGI artists Ryan Vautier and Sarah Blomey claim they “were really involved throughout the project. Sweeney and the Gay Times team invited us to set for all three shoots,” the two tell us, “meaning we could explore ideas in physical space and feel the energy and vibe of the set.” The artists explain that with other projects, CGI often becomes involved at the last stage, which they say “can leave you a bit disconnected” from the project.
Bergdof and Thirlwall, who won the British Community Trailblazer and Allyship awards respectively, also stand engulfed in fluid and futuristic CGI structures. Photographed by Reece Sweeney, “each cover story focuses on a different theme being exhibition, cinema and theatre,” Sweeney tells us. “Bimini’s story was inspired by gallery spaces and installations, so we collated a lot of interior references, and began to sketch out ideas together prior to the shoot and on set,” continues Sweeney.
Just when you thought that magazine covers couldn’t get any more ambitious, Gay Times has revealed three new covers featuring icons of the LGBTQIA+ community. Bimini, Munroe Bergdof and Jade Thirlwall are fronting the newest issue centring around the Gay Times Honours awards show, which took place last Friday. Having risen to the ranks of a drag icon post-UK Drag Race participation, Bimini Bon-Boulash, East London’s “bendiest bitch” (as quoted in the show), who won this year’s Drag Hero award, stands in a CGI garden in front of a giant pink cushiony, shiny structure, having climbed from ex-intern at Gay Times to one of its most recent cover stars.