The emerging artist shares her journey navigating the industry as a queer Filipino creative.

PHOTOGRAPHY Cru Camara
Lee Morale is a name you ought to remember in the art field. The budding creative director and photographer grew up in Sultan Kudarat, where expression and identity were often stifled. &ldquo;I grew up in a province in Mindanao where queer culture isn't really represented&hellip;since very limited yong pag-produce mo ng art. &ldquo;
Lee, however, experienced a creative awakening upon entering UP Diliman&mdash;a stark contrast to the province where she grew up. &ldquo;Parang doon talaga nag-flourish [yung creativity ko].&rdquo; With only less than a year of experience in the industry, she has already worked with rising stars like Denise Julia, with her most recent creative exercise being a Filipino take on the movie Challengers but with an obvious queer twist.&nbsp;

Hi Lee! Let&rsquo;s start by introducing yourself and your work.
Hi, I'm Lee Morale. I am a photographer and a creative director. My pronouns are she/they.As of the moment, I identify myself as a non-binary trans woman.
How do you use your digital platform to share your personal story of gender identity and expression?&nbsp;
I really [wanted] to focus on presenting Pinoy camp or like Pinoy pop culture in my photos. So evident siya sa mga nare-release kong photos, &lsquo;yong pag-present ng kultura natin, &lsquo;yung mga ginagawa natin on a normal basis. So that's how I've presented my digital platform. As of the moment na parang di siya masyadong nasho-showcase&hellip; I wanted to feel na may mga creatives na gusto mag-produce ng very Filipino-centric content. That's what I want to present through my works.

What are your long-term goals as a photographer or as a creative director? Are there any specific milestones you are working towards?
As of the moment, sana, &lsquo;yong style na I'm serving to the crowd, to the masses, sana makaya siyang ma-serve also to these magazines. I want my works to be featured [in] magazines. I really want representation na pag nakita nila yung gawa ko sa isang magazine, [they&rsquo;ll realize that] &lsquo;ay, pwede pala &lsquo;to.&rsquo; Pwede palang mag-shoot sa kalye-kalye. Akala ko, studio lang. Diba? Kasi sa napaka-mahal na gastusin, makakaya pa ba ng isang rising photographer na mag-rent ng studio? Like, napaka-mahal. So, kung makikita nila yung mga gawa ko na nasa kalsada lang, nasa kalye, nasa kung saan-saan, makikita nila na there's creativity everywhere. Na kaya mong gumawa ng body of work, kahit na sa loob lang ng bahay, or sa kalsada. Once lumabas ka, creativity na &lsquo;yon, nakikita mo siya sa kalsada. Nasa kalsada ang creativity.
How have you dealt with bias or discrimination, either visually or professionally, in the creative industry?&nbsp;
Parang hindi pa naman ako nakaka-feel ng discrimination. Because everyone is very welcoming, surprisingly. In a cutthroat industry, talagang na-feel ko naman na belong ako. But, at the same time, I also feel na parang, as of the moment, since starting pa, na parang napakahirap, napakadalang ng opportunities para sa aming rising creatives. And, platforms like L'Officiel presenting us to a bigger screen is so important. Kasi, ito &lsquo;yong mga pinapangarap mong makita ka.

What do you think are the main hurdles, challenges, or problems that most members of the LGBTQIA+ community face? How do you think it should be resolved?&nbsp;
Aside from poverty. Kawalan talaga ng representation [and] visibility &mdash; yong mga pangkaraniwan na hinaharap talaga namin. Lalo na sa creative industry. Of course, maraming naman talagang mga queer icons when it comes to creative industry. We all have it. BJ Pascual. Diba? Even Regine David. Like, every creative.
Still, we want [to elevate this]. Hindi lang siya para sa certain industry &mdash; para sa masa rin. We want someone na taga-Tondo na hindi alam kung anong ginagawa niya. Pero, at the same time, gusto niya palang maging photographer one day. We want that kid na masabi sa kanya na, girl, you can do it. And, lahat ng gusto mong pangarapin as a queer gay, as a queer kid, talagang matutupad &lsquo;yan. Kasi may lugar ka sa industryang &lsquo;to.&nbsp;
How important is it for you to photograph or capture members of the LGBTQIA+ community through your work?
Importante siya kasi nasasalamin niya &lsquo;yong kung anong kinahaharap ko, kinakaharap namin sa komunidad. It's not just like I take photos. Parang may storya siya. Nilalagyan ko ng storya. Yong mga butil na mga karanasan namin. Like, [the] small details. I really put effort na mapakita siya sa mga gawa ko. And it's really important naman na ma-showcase talaga &lsquo;yong kung anong pinanghuhugutan mo sa gawa mo. Because maraming makaka-relate. And kung maraming makaka-relate, mas maraming makikinig, maraming makikita, at maraming, in a way, like, ma-eeducate sa mga gawa mo. Mag-iinfluence sa mga gawa mo. Like, when they look at it, &ldquo;Oh My God! Nagawa niya &lsquo;to.&rdquo;

CREATIVE DIRECTION Maura Rodriguez
PRODUCERS Loris Pe&ntilde;a and Maura Rodriguez&nbsp;
 MAKEUP Ria Aquino 
HAIR Johnglen Aquino
PHOTOGRAPHER'S ASSISTANT Lucille Raterta
VIDEO DIRECTOR Kevin Redder
INTERNS Red Binay, Andrei Santos, and Hannah Teng

Lee Morale: Exploring Filipino Creativity and Queerness

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