Wonderland: Queer History's Hidden Spaces

0:00On March 30, Dean Samishima dropped a photo series called Wonderland back in the mid-90s, snapping pics of hidden queer sex clubs and, bath houses in LA Silver Lake neighborhood. These spots were illegal safe havens for the community to connect, shot straight on from the street like everyday buildings, no windows, just blank. Walls, fences, and urban grit. The real reveal comes in the titles, listing stuff like stalls, bunk beds, glory holes, and barber chairs inside. He captured these between 1995 and 1997, right as the A's crisis hit Silver Lake's queer scene hard. At least three clubs shut down that year, so his lens carries this heavy vibe of loss and urgency like he's archiving places and lives on the brink of vanishing. Daytime shots make them look plain warehouse as next to homes or bakeries, easy to miss unless you knew the scene. For the folks involved, these were vital islands of freedom amid raids and judgment, spots

1:00to escape the straight world's gays. Samishima in his early 20s was right there as observer and participant, turning his devotion into subtle docks that honor anonymity as survival. No people in frame, just the hush before the night action. Now seven original prints from that era are up in a show, spaced out on white walls like dries between spots in sprawling L.A., wide angle views, panning the cities hidden parenthesis. They contrast sharp with Catherine Opie's bold queer portraits from the same time. Some Hashima's all shadows and quiet poetry, even nodding to a toast. Condom rapper. His work spotlights the radical joy in those fleeting unseen pleasures, reframing queer history through what's concealed, reminding us communal. Hideouts build real power and belonging.