A homo riot in the streets

It just popped up on my screen one day.

Image via Homo Riot’s tumblr

Two male heads, their eyes blank like Renaissance statues, created in a negative space of exploding stars around them. It was like watching two cartoon lucha libres embracing in a way never seen before. It was intense. It was sexualized. It was unapologetic.

And I wanted to know more.

Homo Riot is a person, an artist, a street-based expression, a motive, a website and a living meme. Started by a man who goes by the same name, Homo Riot images have popped up around the world, from its home base in Los Angeles to Paris and beyond. The riot started three years ago after Prop 8 was defeated. The artist felt a need to express himself, and so he did, in a way that didn’t limit him to art galleries or the internet (though those did come for him later). He took it to the streets.

Image via LA Weekly

Just last week, Homo Riot was profiled in LA Weekly. His images include the aforementioned kissing heads, his own version of a mannekin pis, fists with the artist’s name on the knuckles and more. It is a sexy revolt, taking place on streets around the world.

To Homo Riot, I say this: let me help you spread your revolution.

I have the perfect pole to post your ideas.

Image via Google Maps

The city of Halifax, where I live, has these large poles used for postering in the city. They are meant to mimic (or pay homage, depending on who you ask) the city’s famed bell tower on the Citadel (itself a cruising ground). They were almost immediately dubbed “penis poles.”

To Homo Riot, I ask, let me slather your name on my pole.

Journalist, writer, blogger, producer.

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